Love On Your Skin
by KotoriLexy
Summary: Soulmate AU where whatever you write on your skin also appears at the same place on your soulmate's. Shisuixfem!Naru
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

This chapter was beta-read by **SeverNSkull** _*heart*_

_**Warnings**__: Relationship with age gap (but if you clicked on this story, you should have been prepared); slow burn romance, and trust me, I'll make you suffer with it huhuhuh; mostly a fluffy story about relationships, BUT there will be serious events involving character deaths, Shisui's position and ninja world oblige. _

_I hope you'll enjoy it!_

**.**

**Prologue**

**"**You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.**" **— Oscar Wilde.

**.**

It was another boring day at the Academy.

Seated on her swing, Naruto watched as her classmates played together. While most children played tag, she couldn't join them. They would actually mock her if she tried.

They said that their parents told them that she was a bad girl. But how would they know? What did they know about her? She just needed a chance. Just a single chance and she would show them that she was a good person and that she just wanted to play and have fun like them.

Not too far from her, she heard giggles and squeals. She turned her head, casting her attention to the side and saw two girls from her class talking to each other, their cheeks red and their eyes sparkling. She wanted a friend with whom she could be happy like that too.

"And if the words appear on the skin of the person you love, that means that he's your destined one! That's what my grandma said," the blonde one chirped.

Naruto's ears focused on their conversation.

"So, if we write something on our skin, and it appears on Sasuke-kun's, that means we're going to marry him?" the little girl with pink hair asked, visibly excited.

Her friend nodded with a smile. "Um! But, Sakura, we have to write different words, so that we'll know for sure who Sasuke-kun's soulmate is!"

Despite her best efforts, Naruto was now staring at them in a far less subtle way. What were they talking about?

"Here, I'm writing the word _Flower_ for me. Which one did you choose?"

"Hm," Sakura pouted cutely, "_Ribbon_, maybe?"

"Alright, here, write it!"

"Okay," Sakura grinned, before taking the marker and scribbling something on the palm of her left hand. "And now?"

Her friend smiled, her cheeks rosy. "Now, we ask Sasuke-kun to show us his hand!"

Sakura's blush deepened, and she lowered her head shyly. "Ah, do we have to?"

"Of course! How else would we know? Come on, Sakura!" Her blonde friend grabbed her by her arm, trying to force her to her feet.

"W-Wait, Ino!"

"I can check for you!" Naruto blurted out.

Both girls turned their heads towards her. Naruto gulped. If she was nice, maybe they would be her friend too?

"Um, you want to know what word is written on Sasuke's hand right? I can... I can ask him for you," she repeated, a bit unsure. She was rewarded by the brightest smiles she was ever graced with. A warm feeling started to spread in her chest. Okay, she wouldn't mess this up!

It turned out that both of Sasuke's hands were devoid of any writing. Following behind the two mopping girls, Naruto confronted them curiously. "What's the big deal about those writings anyway?"

The blonde girl, Ino, she recalled, sighed. "My grandma told me about this story, you see. Everyone has a soulmate, a person that you will love and who will love you always and you will be very happy with them. Grandma said that not a lot of people know it, but when you write or draw something on your skin, the same mark will appear in the same place on your soulmate. But…" she sighed again, glancing toward Sasuke sadly. "It's not him."

Naruto's eyebrows knitted together doubtfully. "Are you sure you did it right though? Maybe he is but it just didn't work."

"Grandma said that's how she found Grandpa!" Ino retorted with a frown. "Usually people don't believe it or they forget it, but, that's how she knew it was him, and that's how he knew it was her! I know she's not lying!"

"I didn't say that! But, maybe it has to be done with a special pen or something?"

Ino's eyes widened. Oh. Maybe… That would mean she still had a chance with Sasuke-kun.

Before she could answer Naruto, though, a hand grasped her shirt tightly. "Um, Ino…"

Both blondes looked at Sakura, who was staring at her right hand, shocked and red in the face. "My, my hand, look…"

They approached her and saw that, in very neat and clean handwriting, the word _Dog_ had appeared on her right palm.

* * *

Lying on her bed, Naruto was staring at her ceiling. In the afternoon, Ino had gone completely crazy. Forgetting all about her disappointment concerning Sasuke, she kept going on and on about the fact that Sakura's soulmate had answered her. _He must be an Inuzuka_, she had declared, before running to check both Kiba's hands (which informed them that he wasn't the one). _Or maybe he just likes dogs_, Naruto had then suggested. That didn't exactly help in finding Sakura's True Love, but he had answered her! It had worked!

Naruto sat up, before grabbing the brush on her night table.

People always avoided her. They whispered mean things about her as if she wouldn't notice. She was prohibited from entering some stores, and the parents asked their children not to approach her because she was dangerous. Yes, she did pull some pranks at times, but so did Kiba. Was it because she was a girl? Was it because she was blonde with blue eyes? Ino was like that too but she heard that her colouring was different from Ino's family. Some people said she must be a brat brought by accident from Kumo. Was her family in Kumo? The old man who brought her monthly allowance told her that her parents were Konoha-nins though. However, he never gave her any more information than that. Or was it because of the marks on her face? But many ninjas had marks on their faces too. She thought they were cute, just like a kitty's.

She soaked the brush in ink, before proceeding to write on her arm.

If her soulmate didn't know that she was Uzumaki Naruto, the Dangerous Brat, maybe they wouldn't run away from her? Could someone really love her like Ino had said?

Ceasing her train of thoughts, she inhaled deeply.

Maybe she wouldn't get an answer, like Ino. Maybe she would just have one word and wouldn't be able to find out who it was, like Sakura. But, she would at least give it a try.

_Hello. Will you be my friend?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. Otherwise, Kushina would have been revived in the middle of the war and trolled everyone.

_**HUGE THANKS**_ to my beta **SeverNSkull **for the amazing work ;w;

_**Warning**__: Language, because Anko. Also, the age gap, so this will be a Slow Burn to keep things ethical (and, well, mostly because I love to keep people frustrated, bear with me :D)._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**.**

**Chapter 2**

**.**

On the following day, as soon as she arrived at school, Naruto was attacked by both a very excited Ino and an equally excited Sakura.

"He answered me! He answered me! Look!" She exclaimed, presenting her wrist to reveal a beautiful rose drawn there. "Mommy said he must be an artist because the drawing is sooo pretty!"

Naruto blinked, before grinning widely, her heart beating wildly. "That's so awesome, Ino! Then he likes flowers too!"

"Yeah! Maybe he'll make a drawing of me too?" Ino giggled. "I have to think about what I could write next!"

Naruto nodded, a huge smile on her face. Sure, she was happy for Ino, but more than anything, she was just happy that both girls had come looking for her to let her know about the answer. It meant more to her than they could ever imagine.

"So did you ask who it is?"

Ino blinked. "Uh, no, not really. I guess I could though? It's a bit like exchanging letters, right?" She then turned her attention to Sakura, who was smiling happily at her. "Did you ask your soulmate?"

Sakura's smile faltered, letting a deep blush appear on her cheeks. "Um, no, I didn't try again. I, um, I don't know what to say. Maybe it's better to wait? Maybe... he'll talk to me first next time?"

"Heh, you can wait and see, but I won't!" Ino laughed, her eyes sparkling. "I want to talk to him some more!"

Naruto nodded with a bright smile and briefly sent a subconscious glance down at her arm. She hoped she would also get an answer soon.

"Class is about to start", Sakura reminded the two of them.

"Right!" Ino realized and headed towards the building, quickly followed by Sakura.

Naruto followed after them and was about to join them when she came to a halt, her smile falling from her face as she clenched her fists. Was it okay to go with them now? Sure, they had wanted to let her know the end of the story, but that didn't make them friends. Did it?

"Naruto?" Ino asked.

Naruto realized that in her musing, both girls had turned towards her and were looking at her expectantly.

"You're not coming?"

Her eyes widened and she felt like her chest was about to burst out of sheer happiness. A toothy grin formed on her lips and she ruffled the back of her short hair, chuckling shyly. "Yeah, I'm coming!", she called, breaking into a run to join them once more.

When they arrived in the classroom, the three of them all sat at the same table with Ino in the middle. Around them, children were laughing and chattering. Naruto usually felt left out, but for once, she didn't even notice the other children, too focused on her new friends besides her.

"When are you going to ask him?" Sakura inquired, eyeing Ino curiously.

"I don't know. What if he doesn't want me to know? It's not too early, right?"

"I don't think it is. You can give him your name first, that way you'll be even!" Naruto suggested.

Naruto didn't think twice about making the suggestion. After all, she would do the same if she was in Ino's predicament. Every once in a while, when she was feeling particularly lonely, Naruto would make her way to the middle of the market square and yell her name at strangers. There was no one to reprimand her for it or tell her not to so she didn't think it was rude. Besides, names were important. Sometimes they were the most important thing someone owned.

Ino nodded, a serious expression on her face. "Alright, I'll do it."

She took a pen and after a few attempts, she began writing on her left wrist.

_I am Ino._

She appraised the words carefully and closed her eyes with another nod, satisfied with her work.

* * *

Iruka was proud of his job. Despite having a rough childhood, he had managed to become a responsible shinobi who could protect his village and its inhabitants at any cost. That is why he liked the concept of teaching the new generation. If he could guide the children of Konoha to help them become accomplished adults as he had, it would be his greatest achievement. Or at least, that was his intention until he was interrupted by an outraged cry in the middle of a very important lecture on the Five Great Nations and their leaders.

Standing in her place, Yamanaka Ino was glaring daggers at her hand.

"He drew a _pig_?!"

On her right, Haruno Sakura held a hand over her mouth, while staring at her friend with wide eyes. It served in keeping Iruka from being able to tell whether she was trying to stifle a giggle or if she was shocked beyond words.

On Ino's left, Uzumaki Naruto was looking at her quizzically. "You think your soulmate is a pig?" She whispered loudly.

'Soulmate...?' Iruka deadpanned. By the Rikudō, even _Uzumaki Naruto _was talking about boys now.

"What? No! He's obviously making fun of me!"

"Ino, Sakura, Naruto."

Both Naruto and Sakura froze on the spot. Ino didn't seem to care though. She sat down and took a pen before she began to scribble vehemently on her left arm.

"Ino!" Iruka raised his voice this time. Where was these kids' respect for authority? Back in his days-

No, actually. He couldn't say much about that at all after his own childhood was spent pranking and disrespecting his teachers.

"But he made fun of me!"

"Who did?"

"The love of my life!" Ino shrieked in a shrill voice.

The ninja tried very hard not to roll his eyes. As irritating as it was, he _had_ signed up for this. Once upon a time, he was six too. He knew how six-year-olds worked and how girls that age were more interested in the prospect of finding their future husbands rather than learning how to sharpen a kunai correctly.

He glanced towards Uchiha Sasuke and sent him a disappointed scowl. In return, he received a deliberate, confused blink from the boy.

As their teacher, and someone who spent countless hours a day among these children, he was well aware that his most brilliant student was quite popular with the girls. Sasuke seemed to find this pretty unfortunate, but perhaps that was another advantage of being an Uchiha; being able to distract your enemies with an attractive appearance. Somehow, Iruka found that quite believable and looking over at his angelic face, he would have never believed Sasuke would be able to harm a soul.

"Ino," he began with a long-suffering sigh, "No one was making fun of you. Sasuke has been focused on the lecture the entire time, as should you."

Despite Ino's disruption and the obvious pride that began to swell in his chest, Sasuke finally seemed to realize exactly what was said. Now, instead of pride welling in his chest, his cheeks bloomed a deep red as he let out a strangled shriek, "What?"

Following Sasuke's lead, the class erupted in an uproar.

"Silence!" Iruka warned, quickly restoring order.

"What does any of this have to do with Sasuke-kun?" Ino frowned.

Iruka stared a bit dumbfounded. "Do you not... Urm, have a crush on Sasuke-kun?" he asked in a soft, curious tone. _Kami_, could this get any more embarrassing?

"What? Of course not! That was yesterday, Iruka-sensei; I've found my soulmate since then!" Ino explained tactlessly, seemingly proud of her accomplishment despite her claim.

Iruka groaned. Maybe it wasn't too late to resign and go back on active duty?

While dealing with his other troublemaker, he couldn't help but notice that Naruto was sitting quietly, grinning broadly beside Ino. She had never really paid attention to her classmates before, not individually. As far as he knew, she didn't know Ino and Sakura at all, other than the facts that the two of them were good friends and that they always squealed when Sasuke was around. But now, to his surprise, a bond seemed to be forming between Naruto and the other two girls.

As he stood there, his eyes strayed to where she was peering at her blonde friend's arm, attempting to decipher the angry handwriting scrawled there. Apparently, it was the response she had written to her 'soulmate's' drawing of a pig.

_WHAT IS YOUR NAME?_

* * *

"I swear there's some evil spirit haunting my body!" Shisui cried aloud. "They scribble on it all the time! At first, I thought it was somewhat cute, you know? Them asking me to be their friend and all. Then again, I had gotten a bit drunk that night and I thought that I had written that myself, to be honest. But a few days later, they wrote again that it was mean not to answer and this morning I woke up with a-a-a _skeleton head_ or whatever it was on my arm grinning creepily back at me! I felt like my heart had _stopped_! This thing is _threatening_ me!"

Shisui's fear was palpable on the other side of the table, but Anko snickered at his expense. Whoever pranked Shisui and made him terrified of his own skin deserved a gold medal. She had never been able to get this kind of reaction out of him. To think that this was the reason he had asked her to come with him to the dango shop, well, that was even more cause for amusement.

"To think that our Shunshin Prodigy would freak out this much over a silly little drawing."

"Wha-?!" Shisui sounded scandalized by her teasing. "Look, it's one thing to fight an enemy when you can evaluate their strength and adapt, but," his voice cracked – a sweet side effect of puberty hitting, "how I am supposed to fight an invisible opponent who writes on my body?"

"You're just annoyed because someone managed to sneak up on you during your sleep," she taunted before plucking off another dango with her teeth.

Shisui grumbled something not-so-sweet under his breath.

"It's okay. It happens to the best. Well, not to me," she added, twirling the now bare stick between her fingers, "but you'll get better."

He stared at her for a few moments as he was evaluating her before he narrowed his eyes slightly. "It wouldn't happen to be you, right?"

She laughed boisterously. "As if I'd waste my time harassing a little brat like you!"

She definitely would have, had she had the necessary stealth to surprise that smug little shit. It was true that she might be considered a prodigy in her own right, but there was a reason Shisui outranked her despite being four years younger than her.

"Did you at least _try_ to answer them?"

Anko glanced behind Shisui as the boy turned in his seat to take a look at the man behind whose hands were stuffed in his pockets. He had an eternal senbon in his mouth and wore a bandana wrapped around his head, eyeing them curiously.

"Genma," Anko saluted from her place.

"What do you mean 'answer them'? Answer who?" Shisui asked.

Genma approached them and sat beside the curly-haired Uchiha. "You were talking about some mysterious writing popping up on your skin, right? The first time I heard about that was with Yondaime-sama."

Shisui raised his eyebrows in amusement as both him and Anko listened to what Genma had to say.

"Back when I was part of the platoon, I'd see him write on his hands sometimes. Or his legs, even. He told me that was his way of reaching his soulmate. And that the answers would get written on their own on his skin."

Both teenagers stared at him before Anko burst out laughing.

"Don't tell me you believe in that crap!"

Genma shrugged. "I saw it happen."

Shisui's brows furrowed. He looked once again at the drawing on his arm. Huge, round eyes in a petite face were staring straight back at him, and a smile made of irregular sharp teeth stretched the alien face.

He glanced back at Genma. "You're not the one pranking me, are you? Because I feel like one of you is trying to prank me."

Anko slammed her stick down on the table. "Oh, for the love of-"

* * *

The clinking of metal on metal carried on the breeze as Naruto trained diligently in the forest behind the academy. Today, she only managed to reach the target four times out of ten while that Sasuke-bastard got the ten of them! Sakura-chan scored six of them and Ino-chan seven. She wouldn't stay behind, she had to train more!

When her hands started to hurt, she decided to take a break. She plopped down on the spot and stared at the target. She decided that something must have been wrong in the way she was throwing her kunai, but she couldn't understand why nor what to do about it. If only someone could give her some pointers she'd be fine.

She glanced down, her hands on her lap. Sakura-chan couldn't stay late after school, her mom always came to pick her up. And Ino-chan said that she was learning how to work at her family's flower shop. However, even though she couldn't spend time with them outside of school, she had grown much closer to the girls over the last week. Ever since the beginning of the whole 'soulmate' event, the three of them had grown inseparable and Naruto was content enough with that.

Sakura-chan hadn't tried to talk to her other half again, despite her oldest friend's pestering. Naruto didn't mind though, as long as they could be together, she wouldn't push her. On the other hand, Ino-chan wouldn't stop talking about her one and only. They had learned that his name was Sai and he wanted to become a ninja of Konoha someday.

At first, Sai was a bit reluctant to give information about his life, but he had underestimated his destined one's talkativeness and pushiness. And although Ino-chan was the one doing most of the talking, he eventually relented and gave her bits of information about him over the week. He lived in a small house with his older brother, Shin, he was turning eight soon (which made him over a year older than them), and he loved to draw.

Naruto twirled a kunai in her hand as she considered that. She hadn't heard any news from her soulmate, but having Ino's and Sakura's friendship was far too important to her to stay focused on that.

Regardless, she couldn't help but wonder. Why didn't he answer her? Did he know she was Uzumaki Naruto? Did he hate her like everyone else?

Sakura-chan and Ino-chan seemed to like her though. The day before, they had both shared their meal with her, since she had forgotten to pack hers. Nothing of the sort had ever happened to her before. And although they chatted all the time about boys, Naruto couldn't bring herself to mind it. At least they had stopped squealing whenever Sasuke so much as breathed! That and they also helped each other. Sakura-chan knew a lot of stuff from her books and Ino-chan knew a lot of ninja stuff that she had never heard of before. Between the two of them, she had learned plenty of new things and it was super fun to have friends!

Even though he continued to ignore her, Naruto tried to contact her soulmate that morning. Since Ino was always so happy whenever Sai drew something, she figured that maybe her soulmate would like it if she did the same. It didn't hurt to try. After all, he hadn't asked her to stop writing to him yet so she considered that that counted for something too!

She peered down at the drawing she had made on her arm. She was so hopeful for her soulmate to like her drawing that it took her several moments before she realized that there was something else written beside it.

_Are you a ghost? _

That wasn't her handwriting and it definitely wasn't there before. She wiped her eyes just to make sure and found herself blinking in disbelief. The writing was still there, she immediately let out a heartfelt cry.

She had finally gotten an answer! At long last, her soulmate had spoken to her! She read over it again just to be sure and grinned.

"Oh, I have to answer him!" she cried before she stood up and ran towards her bag. She threw it open and rifled through it to retrieve a pen, before looking back at the response and jotting down her answer.

_I'm your soulmate, dummy!_

She wrote it out quickly, eagerly waiting for him to answer again. She couldn't believe it had worked! He wasn't going to make her wait another week though, right? Her worries were lifted almost immediately when she saw all of her writing vanish from her arm. It startled her. What just happened? Did she do something wrong?

But before she could truly begin to panic, she saw new words forming on her arm.

_Then why did you draw death staring at me?_

She pouted and stared hard at what had appeared. Death? How do you draw death? She didn't even know what it looked like. Naruto thought over it for a moment before shaking her head. No, she hadn't drawn death; she was sure of it.

_It wasn't me! I only drew a frog!_

She had decided to draw something nice to make him happy, so she had taken her wallet Gama-chan and drew it, with its sparkling big eyes and its funny smile.

_Ah,_ that _frog. Yes. It was cute._

Naruto beamed. So it worked after all! Sai was a genius!

_If I do more drawings, you'll answer me then?_

Once again, all the words were erased as soon as she finished writing them, but she didn't panic this time. Instead, she watched in amazement and wondered how he did that. It seemed strange to her since it usually took her some time to wash away everything from her skin. Maybe he was taking a bath?

_I'm sorry I didn't answer you sooner. I've never heard of this whole soulmate thing before. To be honest, I still wonder if-_

He didn't finish his last sentence before he erased it, but she found it incredible to see each word form in real-time. It was as if she could feel his presence on her skin.

He began writing again.

_I'm sorry I didn't answer you sooner. I've never heard of this whole soulmate thing before. You don't need to draw for me to answer you from now on. I'm here now._

She didn't pay much attention to what he had erased and nor did she remember, but she didn't think about it too hard. Instead, she couldn't contain the excitement bubbling in her chest. She let out a cry of joy, her eyes bright as she read his answer over and over again.

_You gave your word!_

**.**

_**To be continued**_

**.**

* * *

**THANK YOU, EVERYONE,** FOR YOUR FEEDBACK! It made me soooo happy! Although I love to imagine stories, your encouragement really motivates me to put my ideas into words! You're awesome! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :D

_**Note**__: Ino means Pig. So, "I am Ino" equals "I am a pig" in Japanese. __Yeah, I warned you, a very special sense of humor._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Naruto._

_Thanks to **SeverNSkull** who beta-read this chapter! I should edit this later when the beta is finished :)_

_**Note:** The rating went up slightly after I thought seriously about the events of this story. It's T-rated now, although I don't know if it will become M in the future. I'll warn you if it happens! _

_I hope you will still enjoy it!_

* * *

**.**

**Chapter 3**

**.**

_You gave your word!_

As Shisui stood at the sink, washing the dishes, he found himself repeating the written conversation that he had had merely a moment ago. On his skin.

After his encounter with Genma, he had pondered a lot whether he should "answer" whoever was writing on his body or not. He had actually written his first sentence as a joke. He hadn't expected to get an immediate reply. He found it unsettling to watch the uncanny response form character by character besides his own.

Then again, it wasn't nearly as unsettling as the fact that the grim figure inked on his skin that morning was supposed to be a frog. As he thought back on the childish form, he began to see how the huge, round eyes and the small face could have possibly represented the small animal... in some kind of perspective.

Washing his skin with his chakra from time to time, he had kept answering them curiously. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he still wondered if someone hadn't put a seal to allow these kinds of conversations to make fun of him. That would be an amazing skill to use during missions though! Did anyone in Konoha know enough about Fūinjutsu to manage such a feat? Unless it was an enemy who had put a seal on him during a mission and they were trying now to extract information from him.

He had almost told them as much – whoever he was talking to. He was about to ask them to convince them that Soulmate-thing was real, by whatever means. However, he couldn't help but think that the answers he had gotten were far too pure to be a lie. Somehow, a feeling inside his chest made him almost believe it.

He shook his head to clear his mind. Genma wasn't the type of person to make those kinds of statements without any foundation. After all, if even the Yondaime believed it, it must have held some truth.

Despite it all, he couldn't help but feel slightly wary. Even _if_ the person he was talking to was well-meaning, he didn't know anything about them. Be it their gender, their age, their village or their job. What if they were an enemy ninja? He had to be careful not to give them any sensitive information about himself, or worse, about Konoha. Moreover, he was becoming more and more famous for his speed and his genjutsu abilities. He couldn't take the risk to endanger his village for the sake of-of what? Talking to a stranger that Fate was throwing at him through his _skin_?

He deadpanned. There, he was sounding just like a Hyūga.

Hearing light steps behind him, he came out of his thoughts and turned around, smiling.

"Shisui?" a beautiful woman with long wavy dark hair called him from the door.

"Welcome back, Mom," he greeted her warmly.

She approached him slowly. "You didn't come to the meeting," she remarked before kissing him on the cheek.

He grimaced. Ah, those clan meetings. He turned back his eyes to the plate in his hand and washed the soap with water. "I… Uh, Hokage-sama summoned me earlier today."

"Oh?" she asked in a seemingly nonchalant voice.

However, Shisui knew instantly that her thoughts were twirling. "Nothing bad, Mom. Everything's fine," he tried to reassure her. "Actually, it should be really good for the clan."

She raised an eyebrow in response, her calculating eyes staring at him.

"I might become part of the ANBU soon." Expecting the dark look she gave him, he didn't let her expression deter him. "It's such an opportunity for me; it would be beneficial for the village and the clan's reputation!"

"ANBU shinobis have neither name nor clan, Shisui," she reminded him while taking the sponge in his hand. "And you're only 14. I can't see how it could be good for anyone, other than this twisted and ungrateful system."

She pushed him gently to finish cleaning the sink. Shisui frowned, his lips turning downwards. He knew that the behaviour of the citizens of Konoha had turned his mother bitter and that she was especially angry at the Hokage's lack of reaction.

Leaning in front of her, he insisted. "The higher-ups will take my position into account and the clan's place in the council could become more important and impactful."

Her eyes blazed in red before turning back to their usual black color. "Shisui."

He felt a lump in his throat. He hated going against his mother and angering her. After all, she was such a sweet and comprehensive woman usually. He understood her anger, but he still thought that acting out on bitterness and hatred would cause more harm than good to their family.

He leaned back and ruffled his hair in frustration. All the same, he still thought the quicker he would climb the ranks, the easier he would manage to help his clan and ease their situation.

When she looked back at him, his mother's gaze softened and she let out a sigh. "Shisui, you're the one to decide on your future. I won't interfere, but I would like you to take into consideration that the ANBU is too much of a dark place for a teenager and that your work won't be as valued as it should be. Konoha's higher-ups are a bunch of selfish opportunists and they won't hesitate to break you for their sake."

"I know," Shisui answered sullenly, leaving a short pause before adding a soft, "I understand, Mom."

She nodded, placated by his answer. "Then I hope you'll at least reconsider. I love you, Shisui, but your efforts won't account for anything if it costs you your life."

Shisui plastered on a reassuring smile for her to mask his heartache. It made him exhausted to hide the truth from her, but he knew that she would thank him in the end. He approached her to circle his arms around her neck, and he laid his head on her shoulder. "You don't have to worry. If I become a part of ANBU, I'll make you proud."

It wasn't exactly a lie; he wouldn't throw his life away without a good reason. And he would most definitely do everything to better the situation of his family and to bring back his mother's serene smile.

"Oh, Shisui," she returned the hug, drawing light circles on his back, and she gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "I'm already so proud of you, honey. Don't forget that I'll always be there though, you don't need to push yourself more than you already do."

Appeased by her words, he closed his eyes softly and buried his head in the crane of her neck. "I know."

* * *

On the following morning, Naruto went to school in a particularly good mood.

This feeling was so new! To be able to talk to people, like she was… Like a normal person. She had two friends now, and she was on her way to make a third one! Sure, he didn't know her name, but she didn't know his either so they were even.

She thought back to his response. _I'm here now._

She started skipping, swinging her arms back and forth with a huge grin on her lips. It was the first time someone uttered this kind of words to her. It was so nice. She felt like her heart was about to burst with excitement and happiness.

When she arrived at the gates of the Academy, she spotted Ino and Sakura seated on the grass near the entry of the building. They weren't that hard to find, the pink hair was quite easy to notice. She quickened her pace toward her new friends. "Sakura-chan! Ino-chan!"

They both turned in the direction the sound of the names was coming from and they greeted Naruto with a smile as soon as they saw her. She loved those smiles.

"Naruto, you're finally here!" Ino called.

"Hello, Naruto," Sakura grinned. "We were waiting for you!"

Naruto tilted her head to the side curiously. "What's it?"

Instead of answering her, Ino opened her bag and took from it three little rectangular sponges, one orange, one purple, and one pink.

"My grandma gave those to me! I chose each color for us." Ino turned her gaze toward her blonde friend. "Naruto, I took an orange one for you since you're often wearing orange clothes. I just guessed that it's your favorite color since you never told me. Is it okay?" Ino inquired.

Naruto stared, surprised. She nodded silently.

Ino's face lit up. "I knew it! You see, I was telling Sakura that those were special sponges soaked in chakra. We can use them to erase easily whatever's written on our skin when we talk with our soulmates! I know that you didn't talk to yours yet, but whenever you do, you can use this! It's really practical."

Naruto's eyes widened. This... Was it a _gift_? An actual gift, for _her_?

Without thinking, she threw her arms around Ino's neck, causing her friend to shriek. "Thank you thank you thank youuu!"

"Wahh! Naruto, calm down, it's just a sponge!"

Sakura giggled. "And you didn't even speak with your soulmate yet," she added.

Naruto's hold on Ino weakened a bit and she glanced at both girls, uncertain. "Uhh… Actually…"

Ino frowned slightly, waiting for her to finish her sentence. However, Sakura was quicker to understand and she let out a gasp.

"Naruto, did you talk to him?!"

She nodded shyly, her cheeks reddening. "Um, yes, he answered me yesterday."

Both her friends attacked her instantly, squealing in shock.

"Eeehhh?!"

"No way! What did he tell you ?"

"Was he nice?"

"What do you know about him?"

Naruto's eyebrows went up and she stepped back. She wasn't expecting such a strong reaction. Feeling embarrassed, she looked down and rubbed the back of her neck. "I… Um, I wrote to him the same day as you. But he only answered me yesterday, so…"

Ino and Sakura stared at her in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Ino demanded, shocked yet excited.

"I didn't think you'd be interested in that…"

"Of course we are!" Sakura replied, upset.

"We tell each other everything about our soulmates, remember?" Ino added with conviction.

Actually, she didn't. It didn't mean that she didn't like it.

Smiling at her friends, Naruto scratched her cheek. "Okay then, I'll tell you everything from now on."

Both Ino and Sakura nodded, satisfied.

"We should go to the classroom now," Ino realized. "But don't think you're getting away with it! You'll have to tell us _everything_!"

Naruto laughed and started to walk beside her friends in the direction of their classroom. When they arrived and sat next to each other, they kept chattering, Sakura and Ino asking question after question about their new friend's True Love.

Their teacher entered the class a moment afterwards, a pile of papers in his arms. He put everything on his desk and asked for his students' attention.

"Good morning, everyone! Today, we'll be having a written exam."

Naruto blinked, and turned toward her friends, before looking back at Iruka. Her smile suddenly left her face. What. Whaaaaaat?!

* * *

Silence reigned in the classroom. Only sounds of pencils scratching the paper could be heard as every student was focused on their exam. Naruto glanced sideways to watch her friends. Ino's eyebrows were furrowed while she re-read a question. On the other hand, Sakura was writing without interruption.

She looked back at her paper. Although she had managed to answer a few questions, most of them made no sense to her. Written stuff and theory were really not her cup of tea. It was so uninteresting! And anyway, how could knowing the name of some lost village be important for a ninja?

She just wanted to train to become more skilled and know how to fight. Studying was too boring, and-and hard. If only someone could be by her side and help her...

_I'm here now._

Naruto blinked. But… She had someone by her side from now on… Right?

With a pen in her hand, she checked that Iruka was far enough from her before she started writing on her wrist.

_Hello. What's the 3 ninja ranks?_

She waited a moment for his reply, before realizing that he might take another week before answering. Letting out a sigh, she went back to reading the questions, before she saw from the corner of her eye that new words were appearing on the inside of her arm.

_Genin. Chūnin. Jōnin._

Her eyes went wide. Woaaaah! Dattebayooooooo! He had answered her so quickly! And she even recognized those words! Her soulmate must be so smart!

She quickly wrote down those answers, a happy smile on her face. She continued reading the questions, jotting down the answers to the easiest ones, when she had to stop again.

_Hey, do you know the country of Kumogakure?_

She tapped with her pen a few times on the table until she saw an answer forming. A smile stretched her face before he had even finished.

_Do you mean Kaminari no Kuni?_

Hah! That word was so long and complicated, yet people were surprised that she couldn't remember it?

_Thank you your awesome!_

With a light heart, she continued working on her exam, asking for help from time to time. Her soulmate was the best, dattebayo!

* * *

_No, the war ended in the year 66, mainly because the Yondaime Hokage and his team managed to defeat an important part of the Iwagakure military defense._

Shisui answered the questions carefully, trying to stay as neutral as possible in his wordings. Where they testing his knowledge as a shinobi or trying to guess his affiliation depending on his answers? The questions were a bit childish and quite easy to answer, but he had to stay careful.

However, he was starting to notice a few elements about his- discussion partner on his part. He hadn't really paid attention to it at first, but they made quite a few mistakes. He wondered what it meant about them. Were they bad at writing? Did they make those mistakes on purpose? Did they have a poor education? Or a lesser intellect? He also noticed that they wrote solely in hiragana, never using kanji, which spoke of simple and basic knowledge. He wondered if he could help them with it.

He considered asking them why they were demanding all those information from him, but he decided against it in the end. It would be better if he could guess by himself without their knowledge for now.

_Thank you! I never did this good at an exam!_

Shisui stared, his mind blank. What.

He stared some more.

Did he just help them _cheat_?

In his surprise, he guffawed. He thought back to all the questions he had to answer. It… definitely sounded like questions for a written exam. Either for an academy student or a civilian school.

This was the second time that this person was breaking his expectations.

They were turning out to be quite unpredictable, it seemed.

.

_**To be continued.**_

.

* * *

**THANK YOU, everyone,** for your comments, it makes me soooo happy, you have no idea ;w;

To answer the _Guests_, Itachi will be appearing in the future since he's Shisui's closest friend, however, I didn't think about Izumi at all, to be honest, I don't really know her. She might appear if I have an idea for her! As for Iruka and Anko... Uh, I never thought of this pairing either haha! I'm not sure about whether I should add other pairings or not, I didn't think it thoroughly yet haha!

If you have any suggestions or ideas though, I'm listening! Until next time!~


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_**.**_

**Chapter 4**

_**.**_

On the way to her home, Naruto was skipping again, a happy smile on her face. She was singing in the street joyfully while she thought back to her day at school.

"Weee eeer' fiiighting dreaama', ta-akamiii wo meeezashiiite~"

After her exam (that she had totally aced, dattebayo!), it had been a calm day to spend alongside Sakura-chan and Ino-chan. School was so much more interesting with her friends! They had learnt about the five elements and chakra today. At first, it had made no sense to her, but thanks to Sakura-chan's drawings and explanations and Ino's helpful comments, Naruto had finally managed to understand the most important parts of the lesson. Theory wasn't _that_ hard when it was explained with easy words. Sakura-chan should definitely become a teacher; she'd be the best at it in Naruto's opinion!

Since she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, she missed a man coming out of a store as she went past it and they collided briefly. Even if it didn't hurt, she stepped back and let out a cry of surprise.

"Hey, careful, kiddo!" the man warned as he glanced down at her.

Naruto rubbed her forehead sheepishly. "Eh, it's okay, I'm sorry," she grinned bashfully.

When she looked up at him, she noticed that he was staring at her with a barely concealed anger in his eyes.

"Fuck off, brat," he snarled at her, his eyebrows narrowed and with glowing pupils.

Naruto tensed, her good mood dropping suddenly. There it went again.

She swallowed and glared at the man despite the painful weight that was settling in her chest. "I didn't do it on purpose, you're at fault too-ttebayo!" she retorted defensively.

His eyes widened slightly with rage filling them and he approached her menacingly, his teeth visible from the grimace he was making. "You damned little bastard-!" he started.

But Naruto didn't let him the time to finish his answer. She gritted her teeth and stomped on his foot, causing him to scream in pain (serves him right!) before she ran past him as quickly as she could.

Idiot! Mean bastard! She hadn't done anything wrong! She had _apologized_ while he hadn't! Just because he was older than her didn't mean that he was entitled to treat her that way! She hated these eyes, these looks, these snarls; she hated them _so much_.

Forgetting all about her day, she went back to her apartment, her heart heavy, as she wondered once again why the villagers treated her this way. Before he had looked at her, he had sounded nice; however, as soon as he realized who she was, his tone had completely changed.

What was wrong with her?

* * *

The wind was blowing gently on the grass under the sun as the singing of birds enveloped the scenery. However, slowly and progressively, the atmosphere became much heavier; the colour of the sky changed to a deep red and the clouds turned black. The chant of the birds started to sound distraught and the flow of the wind resounded violently. The enemy should feel fear taking hold of his being now; they would be paralysed as they'd lose more and more connection to their senses. _It would be then time to-_

When he sensed that a familiar _chakra_ signature was approaching him, Shisui broke the _mudra_ his hands were forming and the genjutsu he was working on dissipated immediately. He stood up slowly and dusted his clothes when he finally noticed his training partner's silhouette coming out from the woods.

He waved at his younger cousin with a happy grin as he tried to ignore the faint stab in his heart at the sight of the child's ANBU armour. He still thought that Itachi was way too young to be part of this unit, which was why, when the Hokage had suggested that he also joined them; he had decided to accept so that he could at least try to lessen the burden on Itachi's shoulders. Shisui suspected that this proposition had something to do with his meddling with Itachi's first ANBU mission, although he couldn't be too sure.

Itachi smiled back at Shisui and greeted him silently. The younger boy seemed tired and the lines under his eyes had deepened since the last time he had seen him.

"And here I thought that you had forgotten about little old me," Shisui joked as he ruffled his cousin's hair, "how have you been doing?"

The fact that Itachi didn't stop him was just another sign that he wasn't in the greatest shape. After all, other than Sasuke, _no one_ was allowed to touch these beautiful and long silky locks. "I just came back from a mission. It went fine."

That was not what Shisui had asked of him, but he knew that he wouldn't get more information about his mental state. With a slight nod, Shisui sat back on the ground as he indirectly invited his companion to do the same. Without a word, Itachi complied, his eyes fixated on an invisible spot on the grass.

Without looking at him, Itachi started to talk. "Did you notice any change, lately?"

Shisui frowned in response. He knew that Itachi was most likely speaking about the situation of the clan. The Uchihas still preferred to stay within the compound in order to avoid the tension with the villagers, although some of them refused to surrender and acted as if nothing was wrong while still being careful not to cause any more trouble. He hadn't noticed any progression yet, but, at least, the situation hadn't seemed to worsen either.

Itachi's eyes finally settled on him, tired, almost grieving. "When I came back, I had a talk with my father. According to what he told me, the idea of a coup was brought up again during the last meeting and they are considering it seriously now."

Shisui stiffened as he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

_He hadn't attended the last meeting. _He silently cursed.

Both teenagers stared silently at each other for a moment, processing the significance of this information. The Uchihas wanted to betray their village. This idea had been suggested a few times during their clan meetings, but usually it was quickly dismissed with rational reasons. Inwardly, he wondered if his mother was for it. As he thought back to the conversation he had had with her the previous night, he felt sick. _Of course_, she was.

Shisui closed his eyes tightly as if to wash away his dark thoughts and he cleared his throat. "We have to keep our goal in mind, Itachi. This… _plan_ is just a temporary solution. If we manage to make things better, they will soon forget about it."

He saw Itachi glancing sideways, a frown marring his face.

"Is there anything else?"

Itachi shook his head. "Not really, no. I'm just…" he paused. "I'm worried."

Shisui smiled and patted him softly on the shoulder. "Hey."

"I'm worried for Sasuke," Itachi added.

Ahhh. Now, it would become more delicate. He stared carefully at the younger boy's face, trying to see what was on his mind exactly.

"Because of the treatment we were already given, I was a bit worried about Sasuke's situation in the village. As of now, everything seems to be going well," Itachi explained. "However, if the clan decides to rebel, they might start acting more aggressively towards the rest of the villagers and only fuel their suspicions and their prejudices."

"And the children will be the first victims of the consequences of their actions," Shisui finished, his face serious.

Itachi nodded, his face grim.

His analysis wasn't wrong, per se; still, Shisui believed that he was seeing a bit too far in the future. Shisui liked to be optimistic, but more importantly, he stayed realistic. He was well aware of their predicament, that's why he believed that as long as they acted conscientiously and endeavoured to build a better relationship with the rest of the villagers, the Uchiha clan would manage to prosper in Konoha. He just needed to buy more time and change his clansmen's mind about this foolish idea.

"Itachi," he drew his cousin's attention to himself once again, "you have a day off then, don't you?"

"Um, tomorrow, yes," Itachi confirmed.

Shisui grinned. "Great! How about we spend the day together with your brother? We can make sure that everything's fine with him and train him a little bit. It's been a while since we didn't have the chance to do that, right?" he suggested. Not only would it make Sasuke happy and reassure them, it would also brighten Itachi's mood and help him recharge more efficiently.

Moreover, Shisui loved watching those two together.

Itachi seemed to relax a bit at the prospect of spending time with his younger brother. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I should probably go back home, anyway, it's starting to get dark. We can meet up tomorrow at noon."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Shisui approved and he stood up. But as he did so, he felt a slight tickle on his left arm. When he glanced at it, he noticed the now-familiar handwriting traced with ink on his skin.

_Hello, can we talk?_

Shisui's left eyebrow went up. Eeeh, was he in trouble? Whenever he was asked that, usually, he either received a love confession or an earful for a slight little mistake he could have possibly done accidentally.

'Or they're going to make me help them cheat again,' he thought with a chuckle.

* * *

_No, you can use this word to replace the subject, not the object of the action._

Naruto clicked her tongue, annoyed. What did that even mean, dattebayo?

She had just been looking for some comfort after her bad encounter with some bastard in the street. But after talking with her soulmate for some time (her mood had escalated quickly by the way, he was _awesome_), he started correcting her mistakes with a red pen and writing commentaries and explaining to her the rules of their language.

She pouted. If he understood her, what was the point of correcting her? He had even told her that she should try writing more in kanji instead of hiragana. Did he just _know_ how hard it was to draw such complicated characters?! And he wrote back in hiragana too anyway. (Fortunately, she wouldn't have been able to decipher his words otherwise.) He was such a hyppic- hapo- hyp- uh, what was the word again? Whatever; he didn't make sense at all!

_You don't understand what I mean, do you?_

Naruto grimaced. She hoped that he didn't think that she was dumb or anything. She wasn't. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan had told her that it was incredible how she always had new ideas. She _wasn't_ stupid.

_Don't make fun—_

She started answering, before erasing everything with her orange sponge. She squeezed it tightly in her hand afterwards; she really disliked the turn of their conversation.

_I'm not making fun of you._

She gasped. How did he know what she was about to write?!

_I'm sorry if I came out as rude; I just thought that I could help you improve. I will stop if you ask me to._

Naruto bit her lower lip. That… was nice of him, actually. Now that she thought about it, he might have begun to answer her only recently, but he had never spoken meanly to her. On the contrary, he always sounded kind and patient, and he had even helped her with her exam earlier that day. Reaching a decision, she wrote back firmly.

_You can titch me then. But with easy words._

A red line was drawn on the word _titch_, and below it, the word _teach_ slowly came into view.

She wondered briefly, if she slapped her arm, would it hurt him as well?

* * *

When her alarm clock sounded, Naruto groaned. It couldn't be already morning, she refused. She wouldn't go to school today.

But then, she wouldn't see Sakura-chan and Ino-chan.

She opened her eyes wide and she promptly got out of her bed.

She had worked quite late on her grammar and her spelling the night before, until her vision became blurry and she told her soulmate that she had to sleep or she would look like a walking dead at school. In the beginning, she had found her friend's corrections annoying and rude (despite the fact that she had agreed to let him do), however, throughout the lesson, she had truly felt his kindness and his will to encourage her. It was incredible how friends helped each other without even being asked. They were all so good to her; she hoped _so bad_ that she would be able to keep them.

After she got prepared, she hastily got out of her apartment and ran in the direction of her school. She wanted to be with her friends again as soon as possible, and if she could avoid unpleasant meetings on the road, it would make her day much better.

Upon her arrival at school, she immediately spotted Sakura-chan who was in the company of three girls her age laughing with her. She recognized them as her classmates, but couldn't name any of them. When Naruto reached them, she noticed her friend's sad expression and her eyes were directed to the ground.

"It's good that you realized you would never have Sasuke-kun with your ugliness. Just look at you," one of them mocked.

Naruto felt her blood boil. They weren't laughing with Sakura-chan. They were laughing _at _her.

Without a second thought, Naruto dashed towards the girl who had just said those horribly rude words to her pink-haired friend and head-butted her as hard as she could.

"Ami!" one of the side-girls cried as the so-called Ami fell backwards.

Behind Naruto, Sakura had looked up and gawked at the sight before her.

The small girl with purple hair groaned before she glared at Naruto. "Are you crazy? That hurt!"

Those words made Naruto feel proud on the inside, but she still glowered at her new least-favourite person. She was well-placed to know that words could hurt much more than hits.

"You have to say sorry, now!" Naruto demanded.

Ami snorted. "_You_ are the one who hit me!"

"You were mean to Sakura-chan! She's really pretty and nice, and she's much better than Sasuke anyway, you're just being an idiot –ttebayo!" Naruto insisted earnestly. How could this girl be so blind not to see something so obvious?

The tension that had gathered in Sakura's shoulder completely vanished as she watched Naruto, her cheeks rosy of gratefulness. "Naruto…"

One of the side-girls – Naruto really couldn't figure out their names – tsked at her. "As if you had the right to say anything! My mom and my dad always say that I should stay far from you anyway!"

"Yeah!" the other side-girl agreed, her arms crossed in an all-knowing-manner. "Papa told me to avoid you because you bring bad-luck and misery."

Naruto's mouth twisted downwards but she stayed silent. Of course, she was used to these comments, but what could she say other that scream that it was untrue? If everyone said it in the village, there must have been some part of truth.

"You liar!"

Naruto's eyes widened and she turned round to see Sakura-chan fulminating.

"Naruto's nice and funny and she's a really good friend! You have nothing on her!" Sakura countered fervently. "Since I became her friend, I only have good luck! If anyone brings misery, it's _you_!" she concluded before taking Naruto's hand in hers. "Let's go, Naruto."

And without another look at her bullies, Sakura left them on the spot, prompting Naruto to do the same.

Naruto stared at her friend with awe as she followed behind her, a warm feeling spreading from her belly to the rest of her body. Never before had anyone defended her this way, she was so used to being insulted and verbally abused. It was the first time that she came out of one of those encounters feeling… happy? How was that even possible?

With her heart beating wildly in her chest, she questioned Sakura, uncertain. "Hm, Sakura-chan?"

The latter turned her gaze towards Naruto, a frown on her face. She was visibly still upset.

Naruto faltered a bit, but she still forced herself to ask her question. "Eh, did you… Did you really think what you just said? About me, I mean?"

Sakura-chan's eyebrows went up, an expression of shock taking place on her face. "Of course I meant it, Naruto! Don't tell me you believed them? Ami and her friends are always mean, what they said was a lie and stupid, you're an amazing girl, okay?" she persisted.

Naruto's cheeks reddened as she processed those words, before she tackled her happily. "Sakura-chaaaan!"

"Ow, Naruto! Careful!" Sakura cried in surprise.

"That goes for you too, you know!" Naruto added with excitement in her voice. "That girl said mean stuff to you but that wasn't the truth! You're pretty and you have beautiful eyes and you hair smells so nice and it's pink and I really really love your smile –ttebayo!"

It was Sakura's turn to blush. A timid smile formed on her lips, and she nodded shyly. "Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto grinned in response. "So we agree that they're liars and we're both awesome?"

Her remark drew out a giggle from her pink-haired friend. "Yes, we are!"

* * *

The whole class of first years had gathered in the courtyard. It was time for the Taijutsu lessons.

It wasn't Ino's favourite, but she was good at it since her father trained her from time to time.

She was paired with Sakura who was still reluctant to fight as she preferred to think. However, Ino knew that her ability to think could be her greatest strength in a fight; after all, that was Shikaku-ojisan's specialty and he was one of the best ninjas her father knew! Nothing like that lazy Shikamaru, she mused, but anyway.

As she tried some moves on Sakura and gave her advice so that she would do the same, she heard a familiar cry not too far from her. When she looked in that direction, she saw Naruto sitting on the ground as Sasuke-kun was staring down at her with a proud smile on his face. He was sooo cute, but she was sure that her Sai was even cuter.

"You really are a dobe. Come on, Naruto, stand up," he taunted.

Naruto grimaced angrily. "I'm going to beat you up, teme! Wait and you'll see when I become Hokage!"

Sasuke scoffed at that. "No way. If anyone has to be Hokage, it will be my brother. He's one of the strongest ninjas I know with my dad! You have no chance, idiot!"

Ino frowned. That… wasn't nice. Sasuke-kun was a strong boy and he always did well at school, but he shouldn't be talking that way to her friend.

"We'll see that!" Naruto cried and she stood up with energy.

"Ino?" a sweet voice called her.

Right, her spar.

She turned back to Sakura who was watching her curiously.

Ino blinked.

"Wa-," she guffawed. "Oï, Sakura, what's that on your face?" she laughed heartily.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Apparently, she hadn't noticed that something had appeared on her face.

"You," she tried to talk between a fit of giggles, "you have a moustache drawn above your lips."

Sakura's eyes widened and she blushed profusely. "What?!"

Ino stared as a beard was materialising below her friend's lower lip. "Hahaha, it's getting bigger!"

That drew a sound of panic out of Sakura's mouth. "Whaaa- Ino, take it off! What should I do?"

As she stifled another giggle, Ino put her hand in her pocket to take the sponge her grandma had given her, but she only found a marker. Oops! She had most likely forgotten her sponge in the classroom since she had written to Sai earlier.

With an embarrassed smile on her face, Ino scratched the side of her cheek. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything to erase it. But you can write back to your soulmate? I think it must be his doing."

Sakura took the pen Ino was handing her vividly and wrote on her arm, her cheeks tomato red.

_What are you doing? Are you drawing on my face?_

It didn't take too long for her to receive an answer.

_Does it suit you?_

* * *

"Niisan!"

At the end of the day, when she got out of school, Naruto's attention was drawn by Sasuke's excited shout. When she looked in his direction, she saw him running towards a tall boy with unruly curls and a brunette with long hair tied in a low ponytail standing in the crowd of parents. They were both smiling at him and she felt a light pang a jealousy awakening in her belly.

As she watched Sasuke who started to tell them about his day excitedly, she came to the realization that this was most likely Sasuke's brother. _The strongest ninja of all who would become Hokage before her_.

A frown settled on her face, and she wondered whether she could approach them or not. Sasuke's taunting smirk formed in her mind, and she quickly decided that _yes_, she would approach them.

She walked in their direction with determination, keeping her eyes focused on Sasuke's brother. He was taller than her and the headband on his forehead gave away his ninja status so he was probably stronger than her (for now), but she wouldn't lose against him. She would show _everyone_ her true value and they would respect her, no matter what.

When she arrived right in front of them, they all looked at her curiously.

Sasuke scowled at the sight of her, but stopped himself from commenting as he waited to her to give the reason of her coming.

She stared directly in Sasuke's brother's eyes. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

At first, the older brother seemed put off by her declaration, however, to her surprise, a kind smile formed on his lips. "Oh really? That's a nice dream," he said as he glanced sideways at his companion. "It seems that someone has a rival, here."

She followed his gaze and watched the second person in astonishment. "You too?" she asked in shock. This person also wanted to become Hokage? Oh, no no no, she wouldn't lose, she wouldn't! "I don't care, I will become stronger and I will become Hokage first! I won't lose against your girlfriend –ttebayo!"

Silence greeted her proclamation as the three of them stared at her. Sasuke's mouth dropped and he looked alternatively at her and the girl with long hair beside him, seemingly lost. Said girl blinked very slowly, inexpressive. Hah, she was angered by her challenge.

As for Sasuke's brother, his smile seemed to freeze and he made a strangled noise and cleared his throat, before he turned his face sideways as he put a hand on his face, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"I beg your pardon?" the one with long hair asked.

Naruto put a hand on her hip and pointed at her with her other hand. "You heard me. I'm not gonna lose against you. We'll see who will be the first female Hokage out of the two of us!" she exclaimed before dashing away from them. "I'm not letting you win!"

* * *

As they watched her run away, Sasuke frowned perplexed. "What was that? Whose girlfriend is she talking about?"

Itachi glanced at Shisui with a deadpan, trying to ignore the boy's shakings. "Shisui."

At the sound of his name, Shisui burst out laughing. "I'm so sorry, Itachi, but that was," he cut himself with another fit a laughter, "that was so _cute_."

Sasuke turned his face to his older cousin, bewildered. "_Cute_? The dobe? Are you feeling alright, Shisui-san?"

"Sasuke," Itachi warned with a strict voice. "Don't be so rude to your classmate."

Shisui leaned towards the ANBU member and touched his ponytail playfully. "Yes, Sasuke, listen to my girlfriend's sound advice."

He ignored Itachi's annoyed glare and focused instead on Sasuke's lost look. "You have a girlfriend, Shisui-san?"

Shisui snickered without answering him.

He definitely _loved_ spending time with his younger cousins.

_**.**_

_**To be continued.**_

_**.**_

* * *

Wouuuh, done! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. (I also got angry at times, because, well, mean people are annoying è.é) By the way, for the following two months, I will be really busy with school so I might not be able to update as regularly as I am right now, and I'd like to update my other two stories too. But I'll do my best to post a few chapters!

To answer the _Guest_, I _do_ have plans for Danzo and his disgusting hands _*rubs hands evilly*._

_**Thank you**_ everyone for your encouragements and your kind words, you really are lovely readers and it's a pleasure to share this story and adventure with you all! :D Until next tiiiime~

**PS**: I almost forgot! The song that Naruto is singing at the beginning is the opening "Go" by Flow (of Flow by Go?) and it's really sung by Naruto's voice actor and the crew, on the youtube address "/watch?v=wEqvMnBmh5A" ; or type "Go Flow Seiyuu" on youtube and you should find it.

I can't give you the address directly because FF is annoying with external links :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**.**

**Chapter 5**

**.**

It was a quarter to eight in the morning.

Why did they have to be at school so early, when the sun was barely rising, Shikamaru didn't know.

As he laid his arms on the table, his head buried in them, he tried to ignore the noise surrounding him as his classmates chatted loudly. What he wouldn't do to be in his bed right now, to have a pillow to lie on at this very moment…

When he heard a loud _thump_ before him, he raised his head slightly to see a blonde little girl sitting in front of him. Ino, of the Yamanaka Clan, was usually seated in the rank before his with her two friends, Sakura and Naruto. He knew her as she came to his house from time to time, her father being a close friend of his dad. She was nice, but way too loud and bossy for his tastes. She used to spend quite some time with him and Choji, his best friend, and they still had to train on their clan techniques together whenever their fathers decided to organize a common training session – although it usually ended up in gossiping sessions, their dads being actually worse than Ino herself.

Fortunately, ever since she had become friends with the two other girls, the younger Ino-Shika-Cho trio spent less time together at school. It didn't stop Ino from nagging Shikamaru and Choji from time to time though.

Sakura, the pink-haired girl, was a shy and silent person. She had befriended Ino for quite some time now, but he didn't know much about her other than the facts that they liked to share stories about their (fictional) love lives. He was much more acquainted with Naruto – the girl who was despised by most of the adults. He didn't mind her, and they would spend some time together whenever they would skip class, alongside Choji and Kiba. Sure, she could be really loud, but somehow he felt for her as he was aware of the treatment some villagers gave her. Since she started spending time with Ino, she had become much calmer though. She was less troublesome in class, and she hadn't missed any courses; not even _once_. He could see how having studious people by her side was influencing her. He couldn't even recall her pranking people that month.

He remembered asking his father about it. Weren't adults supposed to be wise and kind? Weren't they supposed to guide the children? One would think they would be much more attentive to an orphan-child like Naruto. At least, now that she seemed to have made friends, she looked happier. Shikamaru didn't like to meddle with things he wasn't involved in, but to see a classmate being mistreated by adults was so _wrong_.

Shikamaru glanced tiredly at the seat beside him, where Choji was quietly munching his chips. He buried his head in his arms again, rubbing his forehead tightly against the back of his hand. _He really _needed_ a pillow_, he thought with a frown.

"-wrong about Naruto?" Shikamaru heard.

He blinked dazedly as he came back to his senses. A loud hubbub reached his ears suddenly, and he realized that he had probably fallen asleep for a few minutes.

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes sleepily as he raised his head, and pink filled his vision. During his slight nap, Sakura had arrived at school and was now sitting beside Ino. From behind her, he could see her upset expression as his eyes laid on her profile.

* * *

"Ino… Can I talk to you about something?" Sakura inquired, her voice quivering a bit.

Her blonde friend raised an eyebrow questioningly. She had probably noticed the unease that Sakura was feeling ever since she had stepped in the classroom.

"I…" Sakura started, as she searched carefully for her words. "Hm, something strange happened at home yesterday…"

Ino frowned slightly. "What is it?"

Sakura's lips turned downwards, her eyebrows furrowed. She glanced down at her lap, her face expressing openly her troubled state.

"My mom told me to stop being friends with Naruto…"

She didn't dare to look at Ino's reaction and missed the way the blonde's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? What do you mean?" she demanded in a rushed tone. "Is that a joke? Why would she say that? What's wrong with Naruto?"

Sakura glanced at her, seemingly just as lost.

The night before, during dinner, Sakura had talked about her day to her parents as usual. Most of the time, the conversation revolved more around whatever they were being taught at school, although she would tell them about her friends and their little adventures as well. But, she realized, despite mentioning her "friends", she had never told them that _Naruto _was one of them.

Her parents seemed to have mistaken Naruto for a boy, at first. It wasn't until she had corrected them about the pronoun that they had seemed to recognize who she was talking about. After all, it wasn't usual for a girl to have such a boyish name.

Her father's expression had become unreadable, but she had felt cold just looking at him. As for her mother, all colors had drained from her face before she proceeded to scold her.

_Don't approach that girl again._

"I don't understand…" she whispered.

_She's not a good person to be friends with, Sakura_.

"My mom is so nice, there must be a reason?" Sakura wondered weakly.

_This girl is in trouble_.

She hated that her mother sounded so much like Ami and her friends.

Ino stared at her, scandalized. "That doesn't make any sense! Your mom doesn't even know Naruto, how would she know that?"

Sakura's fists tightened and she fixed her gaze on her lap once again, her frown deepening. Her eyes moistened a bit as frustration built up in her chest. That was _unfair_. Yes, Naruto used to be a troublemaker, but she had calmed down a lot lately. She always listened to her whenever she'd be asked to concentrate in class and she tried her best at school. She was so _bright_ and nice. The image of Naruto defending her against Ami rushed back to her mind, her words playing on repeat in her head. How could her mother think _Naruto_ was bad?

The mere thought of having to break their friendship hurt so much.

Ino watched Sakura silently, her thoughts following a similar trail. She could see the dilemma in her friend's eyes.

She spoke tentatively, her voice soft. "What do you feel about her, Sakura?"

Watery green eyes laid on her. "I…" she began with a quivering voice.

Naruto's smile flashed in her mind in that instant.

_I can check for you!_

The day when their friendship had begun a bit more than a month earlier, Naruto had approached them awkwardly in order to help them. Since then, they had spent all their time together. She would support them when needed, be happy for them if they had good news, and despite her hyperactivity, she'd do her best to listen and help as much as she could. She struggled in class but she would be very attentive to Sakura's explanations and was always so grateful. She was funny, with nice ideas, and she was so affectionate. She gave her confidence in herself and she was always in a good mood.

Sakura thought back of the lonely days at the beginning of the year when people would mock her for her wide forehead. She'd feel so tiny, ugly and unimportant. Ino may have gotten her out of her loneliness and would be present for her, but Naruto offered her brightness and a feeling of accomplishment as well. Sakura might not have many friends, but those that she had were the bests she could ask for and she didn't want to lose any of them.

"I _like_ her," Sakura whispered strongly.

"Then you should do what you want to do."

Sakura turned round in surprise to put a face on the voice who had spoken behind her.

His chin in his palm, Shikamaru was staring at her, his eyes expressing boredom at its finest. "If you think that Naruto's okay, don't ponder on it too much. That's troublesome."

She opened her mouth slightly, at a loss for words.

Ino rolled her eyes. "_Everything_'s troublesome to you, Shikamaru." She glanced back at her pink-haired friend and shrugged before she stared with conviction at Sakura. "He's right, though. I like Naruto too, and she's already my friend. I'll stand by her."

Sakura looked from Ino to Shikamaru in wonder, their words filling her mind.

They made it sound so easy.

She had never questioned her mother's judgment before, but right at that moment, she couldn't help but want to decide for herself what she thought of Naruto. After all, she knew her way better than her parents did!

Finally, a smile formed on her lips and she nodded in satisfaction, her decision made. "Yeah. Naruto's my friend and that won't change."

* * *

Naruto was standing in the middle of a crowd of children. She looked around her, her eyes traveling between the little girls surrounding her as she tried to find her two friends.

She had talked until late that night with her soulmate, who was still giving her lessons on grammar and spelling while teaching her about the Shinobi History. After a complicated lesson at school that Sakura-chan couldn't explain to her because of a lack of time, she had questioned her soulmate who, obviously, was very knowledgeable. Thus, he went on a full explanation about the foundation of the Nations that resulted in the Ninja System, the Clans' alliances and the establishment of the Shinobi Calendar in year 0.

Learning about the Clan Wars was so crazy; he made it _so_ much more interesting than Iruka-sensei did! Oh, how she _wished_ that her soulmate could be her teacher at the Academy.

He had told her that it would be their last session of lessons this week because he would be busy starting today. It happened from time to time, so she wasn't surprised by the news. He hadn't given her more detail, and she hadn't asked either.

Part of her was still scared that if she learnt too much about his personal life, he would ask her to tell him as much about herself – just like Ino and Sai did. And if her soulmate started to wonder about personal matters about her, he could ask her, say, her _name_. Which Naruto wanted to avoid at all costs. In the end, he had warned her that she shouldn't worry about him not answering her at all in the following days and that he would contact her as soon as he was done in order to put her mind at ease.

As a result of her staying up late, Naruto had had a hard time waking up in the morning and she ended up arriving late at school. When she had reached her classroom, the pupils were already moving out of the room. That day, the courses were divided; she didn't know what the boys would be doing, but girls had their Kunoichi Lessons. She didn't understand why boys and girls were separated; after all, they were all at the Academy in order to learn how to be a good ninja. Shouldn't they be taught the same stuff, then?

She had tried to sneak in the boys' courses before, but she would always be brought back to the right class.

Now that she was friends with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan, she didn't mind it as much, but a few months before, since the only people she had an agreeable relationship with – as in, they tolerated each other – were boys, Kunoichi Classes were her least favorites.

Now, she just needed to find her friends.

"Alright class, today we'll learn how to put on makeup on your pretty faces!"

Naruto's attention perked up. Ohhh, they were doing painting today, dattebayo! _That_ was nice news! Not that she wanted to throw flowers at herself, of course not, but she was reaaally good at painting!

* * *

**.**

* * *

The Shopping Street of Kusagakure was quite different from Konoha's. Although the village was also surrounded by trees, the architecture of the buildings and the districts gave a much different atmosphere. Shisui walked in the street wearing civilian clothes, his hands in his pockets, as he analyzed his surroundings. He loved his village with a passion, but it was interesting to see the differences with the homes of others. People were lively and the shops were busy, Kusa being located between two great countries and a few minor cities.

Rumors about one of Orochimaru's hideouts being situated near the village had reached the Hokage's ears, and a team had been immediately sent to find more information about the situation.

Since Anko was the most familiar with Orochimaru as his old apprentice, she had also been put on the team. However, seeing how agitated she had been during the travel, Shisui wondered if that had been a good idea. He was well-aware of how strong she was, both in skill and in mind, but the trauma of the Snake Sannin's betrayal was still too recent for her and she didn't have enough time to get over it. After all, it had only been four years since his defection, and the villagers blamed her and looked down on her for her teacher's treason.

In some twisted way, it felt awfully similar to the Uchihas' situation, and that was probably a reason why he and Anko got along so well. Despite the fact that she didn't know to which extend his clan was secluded, she _had_ noticed that tensions were growing with them within the village - well, most of the villagers had, if he had to be honest with himself. Those who didn't feel any animosity towards them just preferred to stay out the problem.

When he noticed an old lady who seemed to struggle as she carried a few shopping bags, Shisui came to a stop. He put a pleasant and friendly smile on his face before he approached her to propose a helping hand.

The information-gathering could begin.

The team was divided in two divisions. Shisui's mission was to question people in town to collect information about a possible abandoned facility nearby as well as unusual disappearances or kidnapping cases. It was a given that the snake summoner was most probably running illegal human experiments. Raidō and Aoba also had to infiltrate different parts of town, while Anko and Hayate scouted the region as they tried to track trails that could have been left behind. Although Orochimaru was a careful man who knew not to leave any led to him, the snake mistress could follow after him thanks to their common summons to some point as well as her knowledge of her previous master's habits and tactics.

"Thank you for your help, young man, you're so charming. Would you stay for supper? I have a wonderful granddaughter, I'm sure you'd be very pleased to meet her," the lady suggested openly with an interested gleam in her eyes.

Shisui let out an awkward laughter, and he rubbed his hair shyly. "Ah, that- is very nice of you, but I'll have to decline."

Sharp eyes watched him like a hawk, and Shisui started to sweat profusely. He hadn't gotten any data, _and_ now he was stuck with a matchmaker. He didn't understand why the elders were always so intent on setting up their descendants with him whenever he talked with them, but getting married was not part of his top priorities.

"Besides," he added with a grin, "my soulmate would most likely be upset if I went to see another girl!" he chanted with a wave, before he left quickly, laughing at the expression of surprise on the older lady's face.

He _had_ someone waiting for his return, after all. Admittedly, they weren't waiting for him in a conventional way, but somehow he couldn't help but think of them at that moment.

With a peaceful smile on his face, the thought of his soulmate at the back of his mind, Shisui continued to meet people, chat with them and question them subtly. Thanks to his natural charisma and his friendly character, it was easy for him to blend in and to gain the villagers' sympathy. Moreover, his reputation hadn't quite reached the civilians yet.

Nonetheless, at some point, he started to notice suspicious glances being thrown at him. First, the people he conversed with would give him strange looks and they would stop talking to him. Then, gradually, even people around him would scrutinize him and whisper in his back. He wondered if the word had gotten out that _Shunshin no Shisui_ was in the village, but he couldn't think of what could have given him away and why no one was attacking him either.

After he left the last pub that he had visited, leaving stunned yet amazed looks behind him, Shisui felt that he was starting to feel paranoid and established to scan his surroundings carefully in case he was being spied on. If Orochimaru or his subordinates were around...

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Shisui caught sight of his reflection on a shop-window. He did a double-take and stared in horror at the sight in front of him.

"What the- ?!"

* * *

**.**

* * *

"Wait, gimme some more white paint!"

"Blush, Naruto. Blush."

Naruto took her hands to her cheeks. "Huh? How do I blush at will? Why d'you want me to blush?"

"Wha-" Ino facepalmed. "Naruto, no."

Sakura giggled at her friends' antics. The class had been divided into groups of two to four people. Each group was given two make-up palettes, and they had to try out the examples that the teacher had shown them.

Predictably, Sakura, Ino, and Naruto were together. They were all sitting around a table, and each of them took turns in putting makeup on each other. Ino had started with putting some on Naruto's face, applying orange eyeshadow (Naruto wouldn't take _any_ other color) and red lipstick on her with as much precision as she could muster.

Then, she had taken care of Sakura's face as well, who was quite happy with the result. She felt like a _true_ woman now! Ino had a way with aesthetics!

It was now Naruto's turn to apply makeup on Ino's face, however, the latter was too scared of the result and she tried to give a few pointers to her future makeup artist beforehand.

As her friends were bickering beside her, Sakura admired her painted face in a mirror, a smile on her face… until another detail caught her eye.

On her wrist, a message was written in black ink.

_Did you put makeup on your face?_

Sakura's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her soulmate had written to her! That… was quite unexpected. She took a pencil that was lying on the table and proceeded to answer him.

_How did you know?_

She saw a response being written back immediately.

_I've been told my green eyeshadow highlighted my sultry gaze, although it seems to be put quite sloppily._

Sakura read the sentence, looked at her reflection in the mirror - and focused mainly on the eyeshadow that Ino had chosen to compliment the color of her eyes, before she read her soulmate's message once again.

Her eyebrows furrowed. What now, even the _makeup_ appeared on one's soulmate skin? What did he mean, '_it was sloppy'_? Her soulmate could be so annoying! As she held her pencil in her hand, an idea came to her mind.

A cheeky grin formed on her face.

_Payback time!_

She took a palette and a brush, and as she focused on her reflection in the mirror, she started to darken the foundation on her face. This way, her soulmate's _sloppy_ makeup would be _impossible_ not to notice!

She still hadn't gotten over the joke that he had played on her a month earlier when he had drawn on her face in the middle of class. The week before, during dinner, she had even found herself with bushy black eyebrows instead or her thin pink ones. Her parents hadn't understood how that had happened, seeing that when she had sat at the table, her face had been devoid of any painting. When she had tried to explain to them that she had inherited of the most irritating soulmate in the whole world, her parents had only retained the part where she had a lover, causing her father to burst into tears and her mom to ask many questions about her future son-in-law. At least, they didn't mock her about the ridiculous drawings on her face, but still. He was _so_ infuriating!

"Sakura!"

At the sound of her name, Sakura turned to her caller. She was met with the sight of Ino staring at her in horror.

"What are you doing to your face? This is way too much!"

An embarrassed grin formed on her lips. Right, they were still in class. "Eh, revenge?"

Ino made a face and she stared in frustration at her pink-haired friend. "What do you mean?!" she demanded as she took a handkerchief from the palette to wipe off the supplement of maquillage. "I took so much time taking care of you! Didn't you like it?"

Sakura lost her smile immediately. "No, I did like it!" she denied. "It's just… Hmm…" She searched for her words, before deciding that the best way was to _show_ her friend what she had just learnt. "Here, look."

Still upset, Ino read the small conversation Sakura had with her strange True Love, and as realization downed into her, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wait, you mean to say that I put makeup on your soulmate?!"

"Em, I guess…?" Sakura shrugged. Really, Ino was her hero for that great accomplishment.

"And he called _my_ makeup _sloppy_?!" she added in an outraged cry.

Sakura nodded with a frown. "I know, right?" How _dare_ he? Her soulmate knew nothing about beauty.

"This kunoichi-classes are really fun, -ttebayo!" Naruto chirped behind them. "Why is it that only girls have to learn this? The boys should do them too!"

Ino rolled her eyes as she turned in Naruto's direction, that Dog person's comment leaving a feeling of irritation in her chest. "We are women, Naruto. Makeup is used mostly for-" Ino's voice stopped abruptly.

Sakura threw an inquisitive look at her friend. Ino's mouth had dropped slightly and her eyes had widened comically. Following her gaze, she saw Naruto with her face painted in Kabuki-style.

"Na-Naruto, what have you done?"

"Um?" Naruto blinked innocently, white paint plastered all over her face as red lines drawn irregularly across her cheeks and nose gave her an aggressive appearance. "I put all the paint on my face like the teacher said."

Ino and Sakura glanced at each other, a similar thought running in their mind.

If their make-up and painting also appeared on their soulmate's faces, then Naruto's soulmate…?

"Oh my God, _Naruto_!"

"_Take this off_ _right _now!"

"Whoa-?"

* * *

The day had finally come to an end. As she organized her affairs in her bag, Ino left out a sigh. After the whole fiasco in MakeUp Class, she had to make Naruto promise not to touch anything without her supervision. Unfortunately, in the afternoon, they had lessons of Clothes and DressUp. It had actually gotten _worse_, and she hadn't thought that to be possible. Apparently, Naruto was a fervent admirer of Kabuki Theatre; since, after painting her face, she also decided to put on a kimono (which was very hard for girls their age to put on without the help of an adult) in order to give them a dance representation.

At first, she had wanted to put a stop to Naruto's whims. However, Ami had started to mock her, which resulted in Sakura joining Naruto in her folly, and, obviously, Ino had to be supportive of her friends, right?

They all ended up wearing kimonos very clumsily, and they gave a show at the top of their table. The rest of the girls in class had cheered on them and applauded them, until the teacher came back to check on the commotion and ordered them to stop their nonsense seeing that it was unacceptable behavior from future kunoichis.

A soft smile formed on her lips. Well, if she had to be honest with herself, it had been quite fun, in the end. Tiring, yes, but at least, they had had a good laugh. And it was always nice to make the bullies shut up.

"Ino, are you coming?"

She looked in the direction of the door, and spotted her two friends waited for her.

Yes, she never got bored with the two of them. Naruto would have weird ideas sometimes, but she was always so funny. As for Sakura, ever since she had started hanging out with Naruto, she had developed more confidence and dared coming out of her shell much more.

"Yeah, coming!" she shouted before joining them.

When she reached the front door, she started to walk side by side with her friends towards the entry of the Academy. With a happy grin, she rolled up her sleeve in order to check the drawing Sai had made for her today. It had become a habit that every day after school, she would find a new drawing of whatever went through her soulmate's mind.

When her aquamarine eyes laid on the lines decorating her wrist, she froze as her chest filled with dread.

Instead of a drawing, three words were written in shaky handwriting.

_Shin is dead._

**.**

**To be continued**

**.**

* * *

_Hiiiii, dramaaa! _Dontkillmeimsorryyyyy!

_Sorry for the absence, as I said last chapter I'm very busy with school. I'll be back in the beginning of July hopefully._

_"Kabuki-style" makeup is the type of paint Naruto put on his face for his registration photo, you can check it out on Google. Kabuki Theatre is a type of drama play really popular in Japan._

_For people asking who Sakura's soulmate is, it will be explicitly revealed soon! Either in the next chapter, or the one after that. The events will take a more "serious" turn from now on, but it will still be mainly fluff and comfort._

_Thank you, everyone, for your support, it means so much to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Until next time!~_


	6. Chapter 6

Helloooo everyone! GUESS WHO'S BACK?

I know, it's been an awfully long time. I can explain! At the end of the chapter.

But first of all, I want to THANK YOU ALL you amazing and beloved readers, your comments are so nice and heartwarming and patient, I keep reading them again and again! TmT I didn't answer to anyone on FF this time, I don't know if you're expecting an answer or if you find that annoying, it feels like people on FF don't really do that anymore sooo, um yeah.

Have a nice read, I hope you'll enjoy it!

**Summary of the previous chapter**: Naruto, Ino and Sakura had kunoichi classes and learned how to put makeup on their faces! They realized that the makeup was transmitted to their soulmate, but Naruto had already painted hers in Kabuki style. Poor Shisui ended up drawing way too much attention while being away on a mission to track Orochimaru, alongside Anko, Aoba, Raido and Hayate. By the end of the day, the girls were about to go back home, when Ino received a message from Sai telling her that Shin had died.

**WARNING TRIGGERS**: Talk about death. And there's kind of a lot of angst. Because death, and, stuff.

**.**

**Chapter 6**

**.**

"Shh, it's alright honey, Mommy's here", a sweet voice whispered in a melodic tone, yet filled with bitterness.

A sniffle reached Inoichi's ears as he walked in the hall of his house, and he instantly knew that something was wrong with his little princess.

"What's going on here?" he asked as he entered the living room. He paused at the sight that welcomed him.

He was right. His little girl was crying. And it wasn't the kind of crying he was used to. No, his angel was red in the face and looked so haggard that his shinobi instincts woke up instantly, alarmed.

She had not just had her favorite doll stolen or had a fight with the little Sakura. No.

Ino's eyes were closed tightly, her face partly buried in her mother's chest.

An imperceptible tremor shook him and he finally looked at his wife.

Her lips were pinched and an expression of pure disgust and sorrow shaped her features, "Inoichi…"

"Daddy!" Ino raised her head towards him, her eyes alert and puffy. She whined in a small high-pitched voice, "I…"

Her tiny body was jolted with tears and she sniffed, shaking her head, unable to say a word.

"Shh, Ino, sweetie…" his wife's voice was soft but firm as if she was trying to hide her own emotions.

"Yurika," he started again, his voice tense, "What's going on?"

Inoichi was a shinobi. He was a shinobi specialized in information extraction. He had no mercy when he wanted to.

But when it came to his little girl?

He was helpless.

Totally helpless.

"Her soulmate's brother is…" Yurika began, then trailed off, unsure, sending an upset look to her daughter.

Ino hiccuped. "Shin is dead!"

She burst into tears again, "And there's nothing I can do for Sai! He's all alone now! I didn't even have the chance to meet him. I know Sai loves him very, very, very much because he talks about him all the time and they do everything together, and sometimes it makes me jealous, but Shin writes to me too and he's nice and fun," she started rambling uncontrollably, "But Danzo-sama said that only one can live and he told them to fight to death and Sai didn't want to and Shin said he was dying anyway so he put the sword in his chest and-"

Cold sweat started running down his back, and Inoichi froze.

Suddenly, a flat and icy calm invaded him. No more confusing thoughts mixed with worry clouded his mind. The shinobi-side of him had regained control and the cogs of his brain started to work.

He knelt in front of his daughter, a serious expression on his face. "Ino."

She stilled, and she stared with wide puffy eyes at her father, her face red and flooded with tears.

"Ino, tell me everything from the beginning."

* * *

Water streamed on Shisui's body as he rubbed his face harshly. Thinking of the events that had occurred earlier that day, he decided that at least, no one in the village would suspect him of being a spy. Because what ninja in their right mind would collect information in such a _flashy_ appearance? He had been so horrifyingly obvious and noticeable… Then again, people in this town now believed him to be an artist in training _precisely_ because of said-obviousness. Now, that was something to reflect on.

Unintentionally, his thoughts drifted to his soulmate. Seeing the results of his beautified face, he assumed that they either wanted to work in an artistic place or were training to learn the arts of infiltration. He had deduced that they were fairly young, and he knew that they went to school (and had a habit of being late). Then again, it could have been completely random - he remembered the time Itachi had painted his nails in purple just to try it.

He didn't dare to ask his soulmate about their personal activities though, that could lead to more questions towards him and he didn't feel ready to talk about his own profession, his village, and his beliefs yet.

As he came out of the bath, he stared at himself in the mirror, satisfied to see his skin was truly cleared of any trace of makeup or lingering paint. He had noticed that his face was already clean upon entering the bathroom, but he would most likely develop a case of paranoia from now on.

When the citizens had started giving him looks during his information gathering, he had really thought that something in his speech or his appearance had given away his identity. So, after seeing his reflection in a shop window - with makeup on his eyes, on his cheeks, on his lips, his _blood-red_ lips - he couldn't believe his eyes.

_Obviously_, it had to come from his soulmate. Well, probably. It must have been the first time they were wearing makeup since such an accident had never happened to him before; unless, for some reason, the makeup had never been transmitted until now.

And then,_ then_, it had gotten worse with the whole Kabuki-crap. He had seen with horror, in real-time, the makeup being cleaned before layers and layers of white paint were plastered on his face. When people started approaching him to ask whether he was giving a Kabuki representation, his face had blanked. Never, ever in his life had he felt so lost. Anko would never let him live it down - because, naturally, he had to cross paths with her precisely at that moment. Forget the fact that she was supposed to be out of town until the end of the day. She had literally cried of laughter in the middle of the street. She didn't even say anything because each time she'd land her eyes on his face, she'd erupt in laughter once again. Hayate didn't react though, commenting off-handedly that they were already used to his antics with makeup, seeing the perfect eyeliner he put on everyday. His eyelashes were _natural_, dammit, and he just _knew_ that Yugao was jealous of him.

Unfortunately for him, seeing the gossipers in his team- if it ever got to Genma's ears- he was _so_ done for.

Shisui shook his head and let out a sigh of resignation. At least, when he would join ANBU, his face would always be hidden by a mask.

As he put his pants on, he came out of his thoughts when he realized that words were starting to form on his forearm.

Shisui raised an eyebrow in wonder. Usually, when he told his soulmate that he would be gone for some time, they would wait for him to contact them first.

_Can we talk?_

He stared for a moment. Deciding that he could rest for a bit before going back to work, he went looking for a pen in his pouch. They had probably realized the predicament they had put him in earlier and wanted to apologize.

_I may have a few minutes ahead. What is it?_

_Do you have a brother?_

Shisui blinked. That was a bit random, but then again, it was his soulmate with whom he was talking. It was the first time they were breaching the topic of their families though. Since it wasn't too specific and didn't define his identity, he decided it wouldn't be too dangerous to talk about it.

However, although he was supposed to answer by the negative, Itachi and Sasuke instantly came to mind. A tiny smile formed on his lips.

_We could say that._

As he waited for their answer, he pondered whether he should ask them about the- incident. But that thought was cut short as he read his soulmate's new message, and he froze.

_Are you gonna die for him? Or for other people?_

That… was not a question he had expected.

Usually, his soulmate was so far from this…_ world_. They talked about shops, about the weather, about writing, events in the streets, fruits and ramen, and all the little things that made him remember how life could be simple and lively and beautiful. But death? _Sacrifice?_ Those topics were the farthest from his thoughts in those moments.

And they called way too close to home.

The very definition of a ninja was to lay down their life for their village. For the sake of Konohagakure and his clan, Shisui would gladly sacrifice his life. But to answer that much would be a dead give-away of his profession. Was his soulmate trying to deduce whether he was a ninja?

He played with the pen in his hand for a moment, before he wrote down his answer cautiously.

_Why are you bringing this up?_

A response was written shakily, his soulmate seeming to be thinking of the way to word the meaning of that question.

_I heard something sad today. It's about two brothers, someone asked them to kill each other cause only one could live now. One of the brothers decided that he didn't wanna do it, so he killed himself with a sword._

Shisui read the answer again and again and a knot tightened in his throat. Talking to his soulmate always made him laugh and took off the sorrowful thinking away from his mind. He tried to ignore the fact that someone made those brothers kill each other, but questions out of his control started to flash in his mind – who would order that? A kage? It sounded like an order that would be given in Kirigakure. What if his soulmate lived in a small village of civilians and bandits were terrifying the inhabitants though? Was his soulmate in any danger?

His eyes focused once again when he saw that more was being written on the back of his forearm.

_But I don't get it. Did his brother do a good or a bad thing? One of them can live now, but he's all alone and he's sad. And the other one is gone for good. We live to be happy with the people that make us happy right? Why didn't they fight together to escape? What will you choose if your brother and you have to fight? If it was me, I know that I wont hurt my friends, but I don't wanna die too._

A sad grin appeared on his face. Alright,_ definitely_ not a ninja.

Shisui read once again his soulmate's message, and as he erased all of their words with his chakra, he bit the inside of his cheek pensively.

_When you want to protect what's precious to you, hard choices have to be made. There are two boys that I consider my brothers, to be honest. In my case, if my death can save them, then I'd choose it without hesitation._

He sincerely believed it and knew he would never come to second guess his choice.

Still, he wasn't ready for his soulmate's reaction.

_You know, kids my age all have parents, but I don't. When I ask about my mom and dad, the old man says that talkin about them won't bring them back anyway._

A shot of surprise hit him and his eyes turned a blazing red subconsciously.

_He said they died to save everyone, but in the end, I'm alone, I'm not happy, and there forgotten. I don't even know their names._

A weight settled in his midriff. He pressed his lips together and stared at the last sentence for a long moment.

When he felt his leg tickle, he knew that the rest of their answer was being written down there.

_I don't know, it makes me a little angry. That person I know is all alone now and I don't know, it's like his brother left him? I hate it. It's not fair._

Shisui didn't point out the fact that they were rambling or their grammatical mistakes, too focused on the information he had just learned. And well, it wasn't the moment.

A pang of sadness settled in his chest, glimpsing for the first time the loneliness and hurt his soulmate lived with.

Slowly, he erased the ink on his forearm.

They didn't grasp the way of a shinobi, and he didn't know how to feel about it. Part of him was relieved that they wouldn't come to think of their own lives as tools - he wanted them to live carefreely, unburdened; but another part of him was slightly disappointed at the thought that they may never be able to understand him.

To be able to protect their loved ones, without having to sacrifice anything in exchange - that was so childish. So idealistic. _Unrealistic_. It would probably be more beneficial for them to realize early on that by trying to have everything, they risked to lose it all instead.

But he couldn't bring himself to force his understanding of the world on them. Hopefully, they would never have to see life the same way he did.

Even so, he hoped that despite his view being contrary to theirs, they would at least accept it.

_I'm sorry to learn about your condition. I understand where you're coming from. I really do. But in the end, everyone has their own way of protecting what's important to them. We must respect that and fight the best we can for what we believe in. Our actions in such a situation is a choice that belongs to us._

Twirling his pen in his hand absentmindedly, he waited, his gaze fixated on his arm.

_It's fine, I have my friends and I have you now._

Their response made him bite his lower lip.

He clenched his hand around the pen, wishing he could grasp- touch- something.

_I hope you'll never have to make that choice._

Shisui closed his eyes for a long time.

He had no answer to that.

* * *

The concept of death was so vague to Sakura, she still couldn't grasp the idea that someone who had always been part of her life would suddenly vanish forever.

But she still knew what it meant in theory, and the concept left a feeling of unease in her chest.

Sitting on a bench in the garden of her house, she decided to talk to her soulmate for the first time for a reason other than insulting him after he had drawn something funny on her body.

_Do you think that you're going to die?_

She supposed that she could have found another conversation topic to break the ice between them, but by now, she was far from trying to keep up appearances with him.

_My friend's soulmate almost died today._

And that was a terrifying thought.

The day had been so fun... until Ino had received her daily message.

Shin took as much part in the conversations between Ino and Sai as Sakura and Naruto did. It was so strange and upsetting that something so terrible had happened to them.

Sai had only had Shin and Danzo-sama in his life. Why would their caretaker ask such a thing of them, she didn't know, but that meant that Sai wasn't safe with him.

_Ino didn't even meet him yet._

And she had cried so much. What if Sai was still in danger?

_Take care of yourself. Even if you're annoying, we still have to meet someday._

She put down her pen.

She wasn't really expecting an answer, she had just needed to convey her feelings.

But she still got one.

The frown on her face suddenly vanished, and her shoulders relaxed as she read his reply.

_I'll try to live until you manage to put on some decent eyeshadow._

He was so insufferable.

_Ino wouldn't happen to be the friend who beautified our faces this morning?_

She couldn't repress the smile that graced her lips.

With her legs dangling, she wrote back, thinking that sometimes he wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"No Naruto, your stance is still wrong. Your feet must be pressed in the ground," Ino lectured, her hands on her hips, "like you're trying to put a hole in the ground just with your weight."

Sakura nodded. "If you're grounded properly, your body will be more balanced and your hits can have a stronger impact."

"Instead of those sloppy throws you've been giving."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted in reflex, despite being focused on her position as she did her best to apply her friends' advice.

Her eyes on the target, she flicked her wrist a few times before throwing her weapon.

It was nice to see Ino being her usual lively self again. After a week of trying to cheer up Sai, and feeling like they were failing - Naruto and Sakura would write to him as well to remind him that he had more that one friend by his side -, he had started to answer less and less, saying that he would be sent on missions from now on. However, every morning, Ino would show them the drawing he had made to her during the night. That time period had been… weird; the concept of mourning was too foreign to them, especially seeing that they never met Shin and couldn't spend time with Sai physically.

Even so, the come back of Ino's and Sai's little ritual made Naruto feel like the situation was back normal.

Since a practical evaluation would be held in a few days, the girls had been allowed to linger after school in order to practice their aim in the forest at the back of the academy. It wasn't often that Ino and Sakura could stay with her to train together, and Naruto relished those moments when she could have fun in their company and get better at the same time.

Seeing that she was the one with the worst aim, Sakura and Ino had started to give her pointers as she practiced her shuriken throwings - Ino, with her bossy attitude, made quite the strict teacher, while Sakura was much more patient, being familiar with Naruto's struggles. On the other hand, Sakura was training her punches by hitting repeatedly and steadily on a wooden board attached to a tree, while Ino was sitting in the clearing, a set of flowers put on her lap as she worked on her Flower Arranging and hid needles in the bouquet she was making.

After another hour of studying, they decided to take a break, and Naruto and Sakura joined their friend by sitting beside her.

Naruto suddenly laid down and stretched shakily. "I can't feel my hands anymore," she whined, fisting her hands periodically.

"I feel you," Sakura sighed as she traced the knuckles of one hand with her fingers.

"You should get some Rahiru," Ino said, her eyes still focused on the newly made crown of flowers she had crafted. She pushed a needle between the stems, attempting to make it as invisible as possible.

Both girls perked up.

"Wha's that?"

Ino glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eyes before she turned back her attention to her activity. "Shikamaru's family sells it. It's a medicinal cream made of plants, for ninjas. It helps with tight muscles and pain due to training, and superficial injuries. Probably. My daddy brought me some if you want it. It's good to put some on the tight parts of your body after training."

Naruto sat back excitedly. "That's so cool!"

"I never heard of it," Sakura added, her eyes shining. "Are they made by ninjas?"

"Uh-uh. The Naras are a ninja clan, but I'm not so sure if those who work in the shops have ninja training. I think that they specialize in medical research or something?" she shrugged, distracted. "You'll have to ask Daddy."

Naruto watched Ino as she twirled the crown and checked that all the needles were well hidden. It amazed her to see her friend being so imperturbable when she studied; especially if flowers were involved.

"I think that some researchers work with ninjas," Sakura mused. "Maybe there's some ninja-specialty involved?"

She pondered over it some more, and Ino hummed in response.

"I would be curious about the specialty that we could have as ninjas. Like, one where brains are more important than punches."

Naruto raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why? Your hits hurt more than Ino-chan's you know. I think you'd be good whatever you do anyway."

Sakura blushed, a pleased smile forming on her lips. "Thank you." She looked fixedly at her blonde friend and after a moment, she leaned towards her. "By the way, you want to become Hokage, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh. Uh," she grinned shyly, "yeah, dattebayo!"

"Why Hokage though?"

"Um," Naruto put her hand at the back of her neck, slightly nervous. "Well, because the Hokage is the strongest in the village, and I wanna be the strongest?" she explained, but her answer sounded more like a question. "And…" she shrugged sloppily, "And I dunno, maybe people will stop avoiding me then?" she finished in a more subdued voice.

Ino looked up, and both her friends stared at her.

Chills ran down Naruto's neck, and her body tensed up subconsciously. She shouldn't have said that.

She saw them exchanging silent looks. They seemed to be having an unspoken conversation, which caused Naruto to start fidgeting.

That was so stupid of her, why would she mention that anyway? Her thoughts went to her own soulmate who still hadn't talked to her since their conversation about Sai, and she wondered if deep down she wasn't scared of being left alone again. She knew that he was busy and she had promised him not to try to talk to him whenever that happened - she had broken the rule about a month before, but she wouldn't do so again just because she was getting lonely. But still, she missed him; after all, it was the first time that he was gone for so long, and what if- what if she'd end up alone again?

No, it wasn't like she was alone anymore, she had found friends and people who talked to her and listened to her and helped her- and they were _so nice_-

But what if at some point they started to see what _everyone_ saw in her?

No, Ino-chan and Sakura-chan weren't like that, she shouldn't be having these thoughts about them- and her soulmate had no clue of who she was so it would be fine anyway-

She felt a flick on her forehead and was met with two sets of eyes looking back at her.

"Naruto, you're our friend," Sakura reminded her.

"And if some stupid idiots think that you're not okay, then they're just dumb," Ino added in a tone that sounded final.

Sakura threw a funny look at Ino and seemed to be about to say something, but she closed her mouth quickly afterwards. She turned back to Naruto. "You don't need to be Hokage for that, you know it, right?"

A warm feeling invaded her chest, and Naruto felt tingles all over her belly, and the world became brighter all of a sudden.

She should be getting used to it, and she knew that her fears were senseless, but she just- she needed to hear such a confirmation again and...

And a black trail of ink had just appeared on her pink-haired friend's face.

"Uh, Sakura-chan…"

"You do know it right?" Sakura insisted, unaware of her current predicament.

"You better," Ino nodded. "You're stuck with us now! There's no going back."

Naruto ducked her head and bit her lower lip, a huge smile threatening to take a permanent place on her face. She truly had the best of friends.

When she looked up, she beamed at them and nodded, but her eyes were still drawn to her friend's face.

"Sakura-chan? Um, just, your face..."

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" Sakura asked, her head tilted, before her body stilled, all colors draining from it - other than her newly acquired markings, obviously. "Oh no."

Ino turned her head towards her, blinked, and pursed her lips. "Huh. It seems that your husband's mustache grew back."

Even if she was used to this conversation, Naruto let out an uncontrollable giggle. That guy was so weird. When Sai always made nice and pretty drawings on Ino's arms, Sakura-chan's soulmate seemed to prefer to exchange with her directly on the face. At least they weren't in the middle of a class this time. Fisting her hands, Sakura let out a frustrated scream before she stood up angrily and walked to the wooden board she used for her training.

"Won't he stop doing that, _shaaannaroooooo_!?" she cried as she threw a hard punch against the board.

Naruto winced.

Yeah, Sakura-chan's hits were definitely the most powerful.

She threw a glance at Ino-chan who was grinning as she watched Sakura-chan, and a peaceful feeling settled in her chest.

She really loved them.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, a tall and shadowy figure was squatting on a branch, his chin resting on his hand. An eye glistening with intelligence was fixated on the angry shrimp shooting and kicking the tree he had landed on.

"Maa, so it's you."

* * *

The door of the ShinoBeer pub opened, and Genma stepped in, an amused smile adorning his lips. He nodded at the bartender before his eyes lightened up as he spotted one of his favorite friends to annoy seated at the bar.

"Oi, Kakashi, there you are!" He saluted the masked man with a light tap on his shoulder. "You'll never guess what I just heard from Raidō!"

His old partner had just come back from a long mission, and despite the confidential nature of their job, he hadn't lost any time sharing the lastest gossips he had acquired over there.

His silver-haired friend kept staring at the glass in his hand, his shoulders slouched and his gaze hazy.

"Kakashi?"

"She's five."

"Huh?"

Kakashi turned his head mechanically towards him. "She's five, Genma. Maybe seven, if we're lucky. She's a baby."

Genma blinked. She? A five years old kid? What was he talking about?

Kakashi stared. "The Ribbon-girl."

Then it clicked.

"... Ah."

Slowly, Genma reached the seat on Kakashi's right and plopped down next to him.

"She had mentioned her friend Ino, which sounded a lot like a Yamanaka name. Turns out this Ino so happens to be the name of Inoichi-sama's daughter. I did some research and I… found _her_. She was with Naruto earlier, they must be about the same age."

That was… interesting.

"She could have been an enemy ninja. It's not so bad," Genma tried to put that in perspective. "You just have to… wait, I guess. If you do wish to have a romantic relationship with her at some point."

It could have been worse.

Thinking back to the little story he had heard earlier, he snickered.

After all, Kakashi could have ended up with makeup all over his face during an important missi-

Genma blinked. His lips parted slightly, the senbon in his mouth threatening to fall out from it.

Kakashi let out a long-suffering sigh. "You have some valid points but… She has pink hair. And her name is Sakura. I swear it sounds just like that time Minato-sensei decided to write a romance novel and based his main protagonist on me. And she's _five_."

Naruto. Naruto was friends with this Sakura-girl. The Sakura-girl who had written to her soulmate.

"And you're not even listening to me," Kakashi grumbled before he averted his gaze and he started to play with the glass in his hand once again.

"Ah, sorry, I was. Your soulmate's a baby and your kids will have cherry blossom hair. When the Ribbon-girl stops being a baby." He ignored the flat look that was thrown at him and tilted his head curiously instead. "Didn't Hokage-sama take Naruto to a Kabuki performance a few months ago?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Yeah, he did."

"And Naruto likes to paint a lot, right?"

"True. What of it?"

"… Ah. Nothing."

"Genma," Kakashi warned in an annoyed tone as Genma's lips turned upwards, the senbon between his teeth moving from one side of his mouth to the other alternatively. "What is it."

A wide grin was the only answer he was given.

Genma had a feeling that life had just become way more interesting, all of a sudden.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**End of Chapter 6**

**Note**: The origins of the Rahiru cream name is… kinda dumb. But I'll tell you. "Ra" is from Nara. "Hiru" is the way the word "heal" would be pronounced with Japanese syllables. Shhh, don't judge.

.

Soooo, here we go! I know that this chapter wasn't as funny as the previous ones, I had to put some serious talk, but you know, ninjas, Danzo, children being neglected, all that ;w;

To be fair, other than my personal life (school, problems, yada yada) taking too much place in my life these last months, I had a terrible writer block. See, I wanted to take care of Danzo (AND PROTECT SHISUI), but in the process, the ideas and the story were becoming wayyyy too focused on politics, and I didn't have fun anymore. So I had to find a way to make "the plot" move, but without it getting boring/political/drifting away from the NaruxShisui which is my main purpose in this story. In the end, I had to work again and again on the plot of the next few chapters to see how to take care of all of Danzo's crap without it taking too much place and, I think we're getting there? Hopefully you still enjoyed it!

Huge thanks to **Yasumin J** who helped me and pushed me to finish this chapter ;w;

If you're interested, she's writing a Sakura-centered fanfiction where we see her training seriously and setting goals to herself to become a flee-on-sight ninja like Minato when she grows up, and the characters are so adorable and heart-warming. So yeah, if that's your thing, _A Will Made of Iron_ is made for you!

I'll do my best so that there will be happier Naru/Shisui content next chapter by the way, I promise! Until then :D

.

_*whispers* Did you know that Itachi joined the Akatsuki because he wanted to try their nail polish? It's canon. Honest._


	7. Chapter 7

*rising like Mushu in Mulan* I LIIIIIIIVE.

Hello everyone! :D I hope you're all doing fine!

Do you know this feeling, when you see a scene just like a movie in your head, but when you try to write it, it's... Not like a movie? Yeah. That's what I've been feeling this whole chapter. Whenever I wanted to develop a scene, I'd finish it in 5 lines. And then I'd write 2 whole pages that I hadn't predicted at all. Ahh, the fine and very confusing art of Writing.

Huge thanks to _**Yasumin J**_ for beta-reading this chapter! :D

**.**

**Chapter 7**

**.**

Rays of sunshine were filtering through Naruto's window, illuminating her room with a soft light, while the sounds of birds chirping reached her ears as she slowly came to consciousness. She groaned quietly, her eyes fluttering in a sleepy daze, and she wondered if her alarm clock had rung that morning. She didn't remember hearing it, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time that she would have missed it.

Rolling on her stomach, she realized that her arm had been tingling ever since she had woken up, and when her eyes trailed on it, she caught sight of dots of black on her tanned skin.

She blinked slowly, her mind having trouble registering what she was seeing.

And then, she opened her eyes, fully awake.

_I'm back. Good morning, Soulmate of Mine._

Her heart started to beat profusely, the words on her arm imprinting in her head. She read his message, again and again, a wide grin spreading on her lips, and she let out an excited squeal as she buried her face in her pillows, laughing and wiggling one leg up and one leg down alternatively.

_I'm back._

He was _back_. Finally! _Finally!_

_Good morning,_

She wanted to wake up to this message_ every _morning_._

_Soulmate of Mine._

She squealed again and screamed in her pillow, her smile so wide and bright that her cheeks hurt.

These were her new favorite words.

Hurriedly, she grabbed a brush on her nightstand, and with a delighted smile, she wrote down the answer she had always dreamt of saying.

_Welcome back! _

* * *

"Why the library? It's so boring!" Naruto whined. "Do we really have to go?"

Ino was rolling her eyes from behind her, and with her hands on Naruto's back, she pushed her even more forcefully at the front of the building. "Yeah, we do."

Beside them, Sakura let out an amused giggle. "It won't take too long," she reassured. "At least, I'll try," she added as an afterthought and threw an apologetic smile at the spiky-haired blonde. "I just want to check some information about ninja specialties. You don't have to come, you know."

Naruto pouted, her arms crossed. "Of course I'm coming, dattebayo. Let's just not stay too long, I don't like this place," she muttered.

"I'll just borrow a book, I can read in the forest!"

With a nod, Naruto followed after her, Ino walking right behind her.

She never went to the library. It was uninteresting and dull, she couldn't make any noise, and reading was tiring. Training was much more fun! She didn't understand how Sakura-chan could eat that many books _willingly_ and actually like it. Although Ino-chan did take the reading seriously, she much preferred practicing, just like Naruto. Sakura-chan was incredible.

When they arrived at the front desk, the librarian smiled at them. Her eyes seemed to stop for a moment on Naruto, but she turned back her gaze eventually to Ino who was standing before her friends.

"Hello," Ino greeted, "we're academy students and we'd like to borrow some books on ninja-specialties, please."

The woman nodded. "A moment," she asked before she opened a drawer beside her and took a _huge_ book from it.

Naruto stared at it with wide eyes. She was getting a headache by just looking at it. It couldn't be the book Sakura-chan was looking for, right?!

"Your names?" the lady inquired as she grabbed a pencil and opened the book.

Oh. It wasn't.

As Ino answered her, Naruto realized that because she hadn't come back since the beginning of the year, she had forgotten that they had to sign up their names at the entry of the library every time they set foot in there. And if she recalled correctly…

"First year, class B, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. You may come in," the librarian informed before raising her head. "However, there is no Uzumaki Naruto. Did you mean Naruko?"

Naruto cringed. She could see Sakura's and Ino's confused expressions, but she pretended not to notice them. "Yeah," she muttered, "that's me."

With a nod, the lady wrote in her book and told them that they were all allowed in, and Naruto obeyed hurriedly.

"Wait up!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Naruto, ninja-related books are on the other side!"

Sakura's last sentence made her stop in her track. Ugh, she really never came here.

Turning back to see her friends who had stopped right in front of her, she tried to smile and let out a sheepish laugh.

"Eh, 'that so? Where is it then, dattebayo?"

Ino put both her hands on her hips and stared at her with a serious expression. "First off, you have to explain to us what happened at the front desk."

_Of course_, she wouldn't let it slide, huh.

"Your name is Naruko?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

Swallowing, Naruto looked away and buried her hands in her pockets. "It's not important. It's not interesting."

Sakura approached her and grabbed one of her arms in a supportive manner. "Naruto, it's about you. We're friends, so we have to know. It doesn't matter if it's not interesting."

"And it's about your _name_," Ino insisted as she leaned towards her earnestly.

Feeling a familiar warmth spreading in her body, Naruto started to relax.

It wasn't a subject that she was used to talking about, but these were her friends. She had no need to be so shady about it, right? It wasn't like they would mock her or make fun of her. Since she had first become friends with them, they had always been supportive after all.

Reasoning with herself, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, and she finally looked up at the girls staring at her curiously and yet, they were still patiently waiting for her answer.

"It's, um, it's a bit complicated. On the papers, my name is Uzumaki Naruko. The old man told me once that it means "thunderstorm" and he's the one who chose the name for me. So, I asked why my mom and dad didn't name me," she stopped to bite the corner of her lower lip. She was thinking of them a lot lately; usually, the old man would shush her immediately whenever she would mention them. "I annoyed him a lot so that he'd tell me-ttebayo, he doesn't like it when I talk about them, but he said that he only knew the name they chose for a boy. He told me that if I was a boy, my name would be Naruto, which means "maelstrom". So, he chose a name for me that sounds alike and has a similar meaning, but, well… It's not the name they gave me…" She trailed off and drew out her hands to cross her arms and hug herself. "So, um, I told him that I wanted to be called Naruto and that's the name I use now."

She wondered if it sounded stupid. Being so hung up on a name that wasn't really hers would probably make no sense, but she couldn't help it.

"Now that I think about it," Sakura responded carefully, "on the first day, Iruka-sensei called you by the wrong name and you kept correcting him."

"But Naruko's girlier. Don't you like it?"

Naruto shrugged uneasily and looked down. "I have nothing from my parents. At least, I want the name they chose for me. I don't care if it's not girly."

Seeing that her eyes were focused on the floor, she just saw their feet moving before she was engulfed in a tight double-hug, which drew from her a squeal of surprise.

"Alright, Naruto, then!"

"What about Naru? Is it fine if you're called by a nickname?"

Naruto blinked. Huh?

"It's short for both Naruto and Naruko. This way, people won't wonder about it when they see your name on the paper, and it's still a nickname for your parents' name!" Sakura-chan explained.

"Oh…" Naruto eyed them in wonder. "Yeah… That's fine, dattebayo."

She just got a nickname.

She liked that.

They both let go of her before they proceeded to drag her to the side of the library they were aiming for.

"By the way, who's this old man you're talking about?"

Naruto glanced at Ino and shrugged, nonchalantly this time. "Just an old man that brings me my allowance each month and takes me out to eat sometimes. Though we went to the theatre too, and the Hokage mountain, and we fished in the forest once, it was fun. Oh, and," she added as she grabbed her chin with her forefinger, "he's the Hokage."

She hadn't expected the gasps that greeted her answer.

"Hokage-sama?!"

"The old man you hang out with is the _Hokage_?"

"How come you know him so well?"

"Uh… I guess he does that 'cause I'm an orphan, dattebayo?"

Sakura opened her mouth in amazement. "You think he does that with every orphan?"

"I… dunno?" Naruto's answer sounded more like a question.

The old man didn't really talk about other children, but he usually told her long speeches about the village and how it's family and she should respect the villagers. (Even if they were bastards sometimes.) So, she had guessed that he visited not only the orphans but every other villager? Now that she thought about it, she didn't know him that well. She didn't mind it though; she just liked spending time with him. Most of the time, he was nice to her, he'd get her food and he'd listen to her with a smile. That was nice and it always made her feel warm and safe.

"What about your parents? Were they ninjas?"

"Oh, yeah," Naruto replied, glad that it was at least an answer that she had. "They died when I was a baby, during the Kyūbi attack. I don't know anything else about them, but Gramps says that they're heroes."

Ino's frown told her that she wasn't satisfied with her explanation. "Nothing else? What about their names?"

"Um, I dunno that… I've stopped asking though," Naruto stated, before turning her head to Sakura in an attempt to change the subject of their conversation. "Anyway, where's the book you're looking for?"

"Oh, right! It should be in the Organization Aisle!"

After granting her answer with a nod, Naruto followed after her.

She didn't notice the thoughtful gleam in her other friend's eyes.

* * *

When Inoichi had suggested to Shikaku and Choza to have a picnic on the Nara grounds with their kids, the Nara Clan leader had merely raised an eyebrow at the unusual request. When Inoichi had _forgotten_ to bring Ino with him, Shikaku's whole being went on alert, hoping that his friend was just being a drama queen and that the news that he had to share wasn't as bad as his mind was telling him they would be. Consequently, they had left both Shikamaru and Choji in the main family's garden, probably to eat and to watch the clouds, and the fathers had headed to the Nara Forest. Being located on the Nara Clan's territory, no one was allowed on them without the clan's permission, not even Konoha's higher-ups. The fact that Inoichi had suggested to have a meeting there spoke volumes of the secretive nature of the matter that he wished to discuss.

And it was, indeed. Secretive, considerably dangerous and highly disturbing.

First, learning that Shimura Danzo was raising children together before ordering them to kill each other as a test had made him feel cold, although it didn't exactly surprise him coming from the war hawk. Shikaku had been elected as the Jonin Commander not only for his sharp mind, his strategist abilities and his ways of commanding his men to victory, but also because he never counted on the _sacrifice_ of his men and he valued all of their lives equally. His role as a leader was to ensure that they could protect their home effectively, _and_ come back to said home. Every death was a huge failure to him, one that he wouldn't be able to sleep with for some time. How exactly would Konoha be any different from Kiri if they used the same barbaric ways of training their ninjas as the Mizukage had established, despite promoting the Will of Fire and the importance of teamwork? Even if it did fit the councilor, Shikaku couldn't fathom the fact that the Hokage would tolerate such an attitude. Either Danzo was acting in secret, or they didn't know Sarutobi Hiruzen as well as they thought they did.

By his side, Choza, on the other hand, was _fuming_. Out of the three of them, he was the most sensitive to children's well being, and knowing that they were being broken on _purpose_ for the 'sake' of the village was inadmissible.

Secondly, the part about Yamanaka Fuu, who had been put under Danzo's wing a few years ago, hadn't surprised Shikaku that much either, although he understood his friend's concern. After finding out about Danzo's dubious schemes, Inoichi had wanted to obtain information from Fuu about ROOT. The boy's behaviour had somehow ticked off his Clan Head, and after investigating more thoroughly, being the expert of the mind that he was, Inoichi discovered that a forbidden seal had been placed on the teen's tongue to enslave him to the Councilor. Even if Fuu worked for ROOT and answered to Danzo, it was badly frowned upon to have a clan member be controlled by a seal. A ninja had to obey their leader no matter what, on their own free will. If a seal had to be placed on them to command their behaviour, it could be tolerated if the ninja had agreed to it; but in the case of clan members, the Clan Head's agreement was required, and such a request would most likely be refused because it questioned the member's and, by extension, the clan's loyalty. If Shikaku recalled correctly, Shibi's nephew had also been taken under Danzo's wing; he would have to dig into that.

Aside from the grim news though, the hardest part to process was the fact that everything had started through Ino's Soulmate Link.

For the sake of his sanity, he decided to come back to _that_ special detail later, and discuss the most pressing news.

But before that...

"You _do_ know that you are trespassing on the Nara Clan's land, don't you, Kakashi?"

The sound of foliage resonated in the clearing, and the silhouette of the silver-haired jōnin in ANBU gear seated on a tree branch, his back against the trunk, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Tch, how many times would he have to tell him that the ANBU uniform wasn't supposed to be worn outside of work. What a troublesome brat.

Kakashi tilted his head towards him, and he actually had to nerves to look confused. "Hm? Did I get lost again?"

He was so lucky that Shikaku had a soft spot for him.

Beside him, his teammates had tensed, but that was to be expected. Other than the fact that the Nara Forest was usually a secure place, and thus that both Inoichi and Choza had the tendency to lower their guards there, Kakashi was also one of the most skilled people when it came to chakra suppressing. But the Nara Forest was special in the fact that every shadow within it was embedded in chakra, and Shikaku had each signature memorized, be it of trees' or deers'. Therefore, as soon as Kakashi's shadow superposed against the tree's he had landed on, the Nara Head had located him.

No one could hide from Shikaku on his own territory.

"What do you want?" Shikaku asked, his stare evaluating every micro-expression the trespasser could let on. He wasn't one for beating around the bush.

Kakashi dangled his feet in a seemingly nonchalant way, but the way he straightened his back told Shikaku that he was getting into some serious business. "A cute little flower told me some interesting information, but I didn't understand all of it, and I thought: who better than a Yamanaka Florist could show me how to decipher the language of flowers?"

* * *

The day had started well.

"I don't want to see you here again, you hear me, brat?!"

Until it had happened again.

Seated on the ground, Naruto stared in shock at the shopkeeper.

She had been walking down the street with Ino and Sakura when her attention had suddenly been drawn by masks showcased in a shop window. She had let out a squeal without realizing it and tried to decide which ones she could get for a future course of disguise at school. Kunoichi classes were focusing more and more on making the girls learn how to look pretty _and_ unnoticeable. Although she didn't really understand why a pretty girl would want _not_ to draw attention, she definitely understood the concept of not letting anyone recognize her (to prank them better).

She had been so focused on the choices of masks that she hadn't noticed the man coming out of the shop, and he hadn't lost a moment to scold her vociferously. When she had tried to explain that she was just looking, he had thrown one of the masks at her and told her to scamp off. She had been so surprised that she had fallen backwards, the mask landing right before her feet.

Why did this happen again?

"Naruto!"

The voices of her friends made her focus on them, and she blinked, perturbed about how she was supposed to react.

Both Ino and Sakura had run back to her and were looking at her with worry; Sakura-chan had crouched beside her and Ino-chan was helping her stand up.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, her voice quivering.

Ino turned towards the man who was still standing at the doorstep of his shop and threw a fierce glare at him. "What's wrong with you?! What was that?"

If the shopkeeper first seemed startled by the children's intervention, he quickly sobered up and frowned at the blonde heiress. "You should go back to your parents, kid. Don't approach _that_," he scowled before going back inside of the shop without further addition.

Naruto winced, a hot, disagreeable feeling spreading in her back. Usually, she would have screamed, thrown insulting comebacks and tried to defend herself before running away, angry and frustrated, but… The fact that the girls had to witness it this time made her feel… ashamed, somehow.

A warm sensation wrapped her hand and she suddenly noticed that Sakura was holding her hand tightly in hers. Her lips were pinched downwards and she had her gaze fixated on her, full of concern and confusion.

Standing in front of them, almost protectively, Ino was throwing a dirty look at the shop, her fists closed and shaking. "Just what is his problem? That reaction was Ami-level!" she cried, her eyes burning in anger.

She turned round towards her friends, and a look of determination crossed her face.

"We'll avenge you, Naru," Ino promised. "He doesn't know what he just got himself into."

* * *

Ino had never been to the Konoha Police Station. She knew that it was run by Sasuke-kun's family and that the Konoha Military Police Force had to protect the civilians and keep order within the village; but she had never been arrested, since she had never committed any crime, and apparently, vandalizing a shop by throwing paint at the windows and at the merchandise and drawing in hungry cats with treats inside the shop constituted a crime.

However, she thought that Konoha should review the rules of criminality, because the only criminal there had been the man who had attacked Naruto when she was only observing the very _displayed_ products. Ino was angry right now, and her frustration kept growing each time her friend was confronted with another unfair treatment. First, Sakura's parents had said that she shouldn't befriend her at all, the annoying bullies always attacked Naruto verbally by repeating apparently whatever their _parents_ had said, and now a merchant had dared to attack her physically? No. She may not understand what was going on exactly with those people, but she wouldn't be the Yamanaka Heiress if she let anyone lay their hands on one of her best friends!

So, even if she had never committed a crime before, and she had never been taken to the Konoha Police Station, she had followed the policeman who had summoned her, her head high, and she didn't regret her actions in the least. And if they had any comment to make, she would show them just who they were dealing with.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Sakura had ducked her head, her cheeks red, and her hands crossed behind her back. She could understand that, after all, she was still a shy girl, so it was expected that she would feel nervous and put out by the situation. Moreover, Sakura was from a civilian family; they didn't take the fact of being summoned by the Uchiha Police lightly. Well, Ino didn't either, but she was headstrong, and she knew that she took that after her dad. If she explained the situation to him, he would stand by her side, she was sure of it (he better!); she wasn't so sure about Sakura's parents' reactions though, seeing that they had already told her to cut ties with Naruto.

On the other hand, Naruto seemed to be a regular guest of the Police Station.

"What did I tell you about your pranks?" the chief asked, blasé, his eyes bore into Naruto's.

Letting out a cheeky laugh, Naruto rubbed the back of her head and grinned sheepishly. "Um, a good ninja doesn't get caught, 'ttebayo?"

"And…?" he waited, his arms crossed, staring strictly at her, but for some reason, he didn't look angry.

"Uh, I got distracted, I think?"

"You think," the man repeated in a monotone voice, before closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly. "You'll have to work harder on your concentration if you want to be a good ninja." Then, he turned his attention to both Ino and Sakura. "You, however, are new heads around here. Did she drag you into her unconventional plans?"

Sakura's blush deepened, and so did Ino's frown.

"It was _my_ idea," Ino corrected. If he was going to blame Naruto for no reason, she would throw a tantrum. And her dad always said that she had been graced with the sweetest, shrillest voice that he had ever heard.

The policeman focused on Ino. "Explain."

Ino crossed her arms and raised her chin, mirroring the man without letting his hard look deter her. "He was at fault. He insulted an innocent customer and threw an object at her when she was looking from outside of the window shop. I decided to teach him a lesson." After a pause, she added, "Naruto just helped slightly because I asked her to."

She wouldn't drag Sakura in this case if it would cause problems with her parents.

The man seemed to be thinking about her words as he glanced silently at Naruto, but his gaze suddenly shifted to the door of his office; and when she looked in the same direction, all the tension in her body vanished.

"Daddy!"

Her father greeted her with a smile, and she grinned back at him before he exchanged a nod with the policeman; some kind of Man Greeting?

"Inoichi-sama."

"Fugaku-sama."

Oh! Her dad and the chief knew each other apparently. Obviously, Ino mused; her father most likely knew every shinobi of Konohagakure.

"My apologies for the impromptu summon," Fugaku (the police chief, then) began, not really sounding sorry in Ino's opinion. "I thought that you'd be interested in your daughter's vandalization acts."

Ino cringed. Oh, no, he wouldn't make her be the bad guy in the story, she wouldn't let him! She could already feel her father's disapproving stare, but she _knew_ that she was right.

She didn't have the time to defend her position though, before Fugaku-sama, the Shodai Hokage-sama's ghost bless him, came to her rescue. "However, it would seem that she was defending a civilian who had been unjustly abused and your daughter just happened to use… a peculiar way of doing so."

Inoichi blinked in surprise. "I… see," he answered hesitantly. "My deepest apologies for the trouble Ino has caused you." He bowed his head in respect, apparently troubled.

"There won't be any charges this time, not even for you, Naruto," the chief added as he glanced at the spiky-haired blonde.

Ino's blood boiled at the special aim. "Why Naruto specifically?" she shouted. She was having absolutely no patience with this treatment. "And here I was thinking you were a cool guy!"

"Ino!" Inoichi gasped in concealed horror, or surprise, or amazement; whichever, she'd deal with that.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow at the intervention but focused his attention on her nonetheless. "Naruto, specifically," he repeated calmly, "because I gave her way too many warnings already, and most of the time, her pranks are done as a pastime."

"Hey!" Naruto whined, "I got better lately, 'ttebayo!"

"You did," Fugaku agreed with a slight nod, "until Satoru brought you back here. Again. Your criminal record is getting quite full, young lady."

"Oh." Naruto looked away and straightened her back, an innocent expression appearing suddenly on her face.

Ino blinked repeatedly. Oh, indeed. So, Fugaku-sama wasn't being unfair. This was good then. If she noticed any other real criminals _abusing_ a civilian like he had said (namely, Naruto) and her dad wasn't available, the Police Chief would definitely hear about it. She would just be helping him doing his job well anyway.

"I won't be so lenient if there ever is a next time, though," he warned. "Understood?"

No problem. The police would be doing the job for her. She was fine with that.

"Yeah, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed with a grin.

"Understood," Ino smiled with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Sakura just nodded with a smile. Speaking of which…

"Did you also call Sakura's parents?"

At Ino's question, the Chief's attention turned to Inoichi, an unspoken conversation seeming to go between them.

"About that," Fugaku began, "since this is your first time, I considered calling only one parent to pick you up. I believe that Inoichi-sama is familiar with the three of you. Seeing that you are free of any charges, Sakura-kun's parents aren't required this time."

If Ino had to give her opinion about the matter, she would say that her dad was blinking very slowly, just like when Shikaku-ojisan would be talking about stuff that he didn't understand at all but he wouldn't want to admit it.

Instead, she focused on Sakura who let out a sigh of relief. Although she was determined to keep her friendship with Naruto, she could get in trouble if her parents ever found out about it. So, for now, they had agreed that it was better to keep it a secret from them.

Good. Sakura was still a sprout that hadn't bloomed yet. She had to take the time she needed to build up the confidence to take over the world with the beauty of the flower she'd become. Until then, Ino would make sure that nothing would tarnish her growth; not even her parents' wrong judgment.

* * *

When an Uchiha policeman had come to fetch him because, somehow, Ino had gotten involved in a matter that included the _police_, Inoichi had almost fainted. If Danzo had found out about his daughter's knowledge of his affairs, he couldn't predict his future actions.

Thankfully, his only worry had to be his daughter's sense of justice that had pushed her to take action against a civilian, who didn't wield the arts of manipulation and killing, and the situation had been solved rather quickly and with no lasting consequences; at least, not at first glance.

He wasn't exactly surprised by Ino's behaviour. She had first befriended Sakura by defending her against bullies. Now that she had also become friends with Uzumaki Naruto, _of course_, she wouldn't stand back if the bullies so happened to be adults and their victim was the resident jinchūriki of Konoha. Still, to see her talking back to the _Uchiha Clan Leader_ in order to defend her friend was a trial for his heart. Deep inside, he couldn't help his pride from swelling at the realization that Ino was already so fierce and loyal to her friends, but she definitely had more guts than he did at her age. He wasn't so sure that he would have gotten this defensive for Shikaku or Chōza when he was six.

However, what had surprised him the most in that meeting was probably Fugaku-sama's reactions to the children. In hindsight, he was most likely used to Naruto's situation and to dealing with the issues her reputation brought, but he hadn't expected him to avoid calling up Sakura's parents just because civilians were renowned for acting more exceedingly at her condition. (Well, not _all_ ninjas were that much better most of the time, but his friends were just indifferent to her, so he comforted himself by thinking of their attitude instead).

In private, Fugaku-sama had told him that the Hokage would be informed by this little incident and that he would probably take action in that regard. Which meant that he might hear about this event from Hokage-sama soon enough; after all, he was sure that their leader would always be interested in the jinchūriki's relationships and he had been waiting for the conversation ever since Ino came back home one day telling them that she had made a new friend while she was searching for her soulmate. That had both been the best and worst day of his life. Ino had finally given up on her crush on the Uchiha kid, but she had also apparently found the one that Fate had chosen for her. Why his mother had corrupted his daughter so, he had moaned; she had also told him about this story of Soulmates Bound For Life, but in a world where death and territory limitations prevailed, a perfect partner that the world linked them to had little importance; their experiences in life were what forged their deepest bonds.

On the other hand, Ino's newfound friendship hadn't posed a problem to him. As long as her companions were as faithful to her as she was to them, he was glad for the bonds she made; and Naruto seemed to be a sweet child.

As he walked beside the girls, having agreed to take them all back home, he listened with a distracted ear to their conversation.

"What kind of punishment does he usually give you?" Sakura asked, her shyness evaporated.

Naruto scratched the back of her head, her pupils directed upwards as she pondered her question. "I usually have to sit and copy the rules of the code of criminals, from the Konoha Police Book."

Inoichi snorted silently. The criminal code. Not a bad idea.

"But I get food too, there's always a box full of onigiris and sweets on the Chief's desk."

His eyebrows shot upwards at the confession. Fugaku-sama was more soft-hearted than he had first thought. Now that he thought about it, he did have a soft spot for Uzumaki Kushina. Most people thought that they hated each other and couldn't bear to be in the other's presence, but Yondaime-sama had been fairly adamant in the fact that they got along _too_ well and that he envied their close friendship. Whether it was due to Kushina's constant pranks in the Police Station or her loud threats and insults for the Uchiha Head Clan, or Fugaku-sama's prayers for his wife to finally see the light about the Habanero's madness and his tendency to lose his temper whenever she was in the vicinity, he didn't know. And in retrospect, it might have been a strange relationship, but Inoichi could see where Minato was coming from.

At the thought of those few burrowed memories, a wistful smile crossed Inoichi's face.

Who could have thought back then that their beloved Yondaime and his wife would leave the world so abruptly?

His focus was subconsciously drawn to the last remnant of their legacy. Actually, he was more grateful for his daughter's relationship with their child than he had first realized.

After dropping both Sakura and Naruto at their respective homes, Inoichi started to walk towards the Yamanaka compound, Ino trailing soon after him. She seemed to ponder for a moment before she grabbed his hand timidly.

Raising an eyebrow at her caution, he watched her silently, waiting to hear whatever was on her mind.

"Daddy… You know, I still think that what I did was right," she started, before continuing hesitantly. "But, you're really not… angry with me?"

Inoichi's gaze softened at her question, and he squeezed her hand tightly in his. "Ino, darling, my days have become infinitely busier lately thanks to your blissful existence, but I _am_ proud of you," he reassured her. "This being said, I expect you to act less on impulse next time, and actually go look for help if such an incident ever happens again." At her nod, he promptly added, "So. Do you care to explain to me how exactly you managed to get that much paint _inside_ the shopkeeper's clothes in such a short time?"

Her eyes lit up at the request. "Oh, that was Naru's idea! You have to hear about this!"

* * *

The sounds in the busy streets of Konohagakure were like a sweet melody to Shisui's ears. Kusagakure had been nice to discover, but he was definitely glad to be back in his home village. He had missed the feel of the rays of the sun warming up his skin, the fresh wind blowing in his hair, the smell of leaves and trees and nature. But more than anything, Shisui had missed his family.

Upon returning to Konoha, he had spent all day long with his mother, helping her around her shop. Despite being a retired kunoichi, Uchiha Ryoko couldn't stay still. It was understandable; seeing that she had been an active woman her whole life, she had to keep herself busy; and when Shisui had become old enough to go on missions (at the old age of six, during the war), she had decided to start up a small business, by selling out handmade bento boxes. She had quite a few regulars, be it children whose parents were too busy to cook homemade meals for, bachelors who didn't take the time to cook for themselves, or orphans who had found themselves alone after the war and didn't have given caretakers, living either in the Uchiha Orphanage or by themselves. Most of her customers were from the ninja profession though, and being a kunoichi herself, she knew the perfect rations to put in a meal. She sold her bento boxes quite cheap, working more as a hobby than to truly earn her life, and sometimes, she would give culinary lessons to the most motivated ones.

The day when he had come back, she had to cook early in the morning, as per her usual schedule, and since Shisui's team had taken the time to rest the day before coming back, he had been well-rested upon his arrival in the early morning. His mother had been so delighted to see him enter the shop that she had promptly dragged him in the kitchen backdoors, and Shisui had followed after her with a grin. Even if she called him her minion and pretended that she wasn't leaving him a choice in working with her, Shisui knew that she would feed him more than she would make him cook. He did like cooking anyway; from time to time, Shisui joked with Itachi about opening a restaurant, with Shisui preparing the meals and Itachi taking care of the pastries.

Now, three days after his return, he was walking down the shopping street in a quest for The Perfect Gift for his favorite cousin. Itachi's birthday had been two days ago, but he had been away on his own mission that week. According to Shisui's informant (namely, Sasuke-chan), Itachi should be back in the night.

He had already gotten a set of shuriken for him back in Kusagakure; they may not be as renowned as Iron Country for crafting weapons of good quality, but their work was still one of the most meticulous in the Elemental Nations. Besides, on the day before, he had also bought a book on _How To Train Your Summon_. Since Itachi had signed a summoning contract with crows a few months ago, despite having been familiar with some of them for a few years now, he had been wondering how he could strengthen their bond, how he should treat them and try to understand them, whether they were rather closer to typical animals or to humans, and all the theory and history behind summoning contracts, the blood links and so on. When Shisui leafed through the pages of the book, he found that there was even a chapter about the compatibility between the summons and their summoners' personalities, and examples of some summons and their most suitable partners. Anyway, it was instructive, fun to read, and quite interesting in Shisui's opinion; Itachi _had_ to love it.

But, just in case, he thought that dangos would still be his safest bet. Which was why he was heading to the locals' favorite dango shop, praying that Anko wouldn't be there. She _still_ hadn't let go of the whole paint-on-the-face incident, seriously!

Shaking his head slightly to clear off his thoughts, he spotted the shop a few meters away. As he entered, his shoulders sagged of relief, noticing the lack of demonic snake tamer, and he approached the counter in order to place his order.

In the line right in front of him, the blond hair of a short kid drew his attention.

"And a box of konpeito, please, thank you-ttebayo!"

Shisui tilted his head to take a better look at the child. Yep, definitely her. A grin stretched his lips, and he leaned imperceptibly towards her.

"Wouldn't that happen to be our future First Female Hokage?"

Naruto, he recalled, jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice and turned towards him, an expression of awe on her face. She stared at him for a moment, her lips parted as she evaluated him, before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Oh! You're Sasuke's brother!"

Shisui's eyebrows shop up at her words. Then, a chuckle came out of his lips as an easy feeling settled in his chest. Right. That little misunderstanding brought him more joy than he would have thought it would, and if he had to be honest with himself, he didn't feel like correcting her. After all, he had even told his soulmate that he _did_ consider both brothers as his own.

"That would be me. I'm Uchiha Shisui, it's nice to see you again." He winked at her, a smile lifting the corner of his lips. "I'm Sasuke's cousin, though."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in wonder. "You're not his brother? Oh, and I'm Uzumaki Naruto-ttebayo!" she added quickly, having seemingly forgotten that she had already introduced herself.

He nodded politely when he noticed the vendor coming back. "It would seem like your order is ready, Naruto-chan."

She turned back towards to counter and thanked loudly the vendor as she grasped a bag apparently full of refreshments.

"You've got a lot of candies here," he commented.

"Yeah." Her eyes brightened. "I'm gonna meet with my friends so we can train together today because we have an exam tomorrow, so I'm getting some snacks for us!" she beamed, a deep blush spreading on her cheeks, and her eyes closing made her resemble a happy kitten.

Shisui could have squealed on the spot. She was adorable! The sight of the joyful child made him remember just why exactly he was working so hard as a shinobi, why his missions were so important, and why he needed to get better to help keep the peace within the village.

"You buying snacks too?"

"Yeah, actually-" an impish grin parted his lips "-I'm getting a birthday gift for my girlfriend. You know, the one you met last time with me when we came to pick up Sasuke," he sing-songed.

"Ohhhh," she awed. "I remember her! That's nice!" she smiled, before adding quickly, "But I still won't let her be Hokage! The hat's mine!"

A pleasant laugh bubbled in Shisui's chest. "I'm letting both of you deal with this special matter. Do your best in your training though, it won't be easy," he advised.

Naruto nodded energetically. "Yeah, I will. Later, Sasuke's brother!" she exclaimed with a wave, before she left, hopping happily, her bag of sweets held tightly in her fist.

"Wha-" Shisui blinked. "I'm his cousin! And my name's Shisu-" he corrected hurriedly, but she was already out of sight.

He let out a snort and shook his head in amusement. What a lively kid, he mused. Somehow, she reminded him a bit of his soulmate.

* * *

As Kakashi jumped from one roof to another in the darkness of the night, a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind.

The day he had learnt his soulmate's identity, he had put in a corner of his head various information that he wanted to analyze after getting drunk and forgetting that apparently, Fate had decided to match him with a baby.

These pieces of information being that Sakura was friends with Yamanaka Ino. That Yamanaka Ino's soulmate had almost lost his life. And that it was all due to an order he had been given that was somehow related to the world of ninjas.

He had first thought of warning Inoichi-dono, in case he wasn't aware of his daughter's conversations and the possible link that she had with dangerous individuals. He didn't doubt the fact that as the head of T&I, he would notice any variation of behaviour of his own child, but he was never too sure. Establishing a link with a soulmate in this kind of world was risky, and usually advised against. He was indeed lucky that his was part of Konoha; at first, he had started answering them because, somehow, he kept hearing the ghost of Minato-sensei fawning over him and pushing him to at least _try_ to get to know them; and after all, why not? As long as they never learnt who he was.

So, when he had undertaken to follow Yamanaka Inoichi, ending up on the Nara Grounds hadn't been his first plan. But at the sight of the Clan Heads together, with Sakura's revelation at the back of his mind, Kakashi's guts had screamed at him that there was a correlation. And if the clan heads decided to have a reunion about such an event, it had to be quite serious. Of course, he knew that walking on the Nara lands without permission was quite illegal, but Kakashi was a ninja, nosy and curious, and he was sure that his jōnin commander wouldn't mind asking for his services if he could be of any use.

The mention of Danzo had instantly put him on edge. Despite himself, he was reminded of his, dare he say, attempted coup d'Etat on the Third Hokage right after Minato's death. When Shikaku had prompted him about whatever information he had (if he didn't want to be sued), Kakashi had dropped a few hints about what he had found out during his time in ROOT, but he couldn't talk in detail since he had been ordered to keep quiet by the Hokage himself. However, Shikaku was one of the few people that Kakashi had the utmost trust into, and the main subject was that of comrades who had immoral upbringings. They may be ninjas, but even they had rules; and if his father and Obito had taught him anything, it was that a ninja shouldn't lose their humanity over a mission. Comrades came first and foremost, teamwork was Konoha's ninjas' way of operating, and acting otherwise was disgracing those values.

In the end, they had agreed that if there was more going on underground that was possibly putting Konoha shinobis in danger, they had to act, find more substantial proofs and inform the Hokage as soon as possible. Sarutobi may have decided to spare Danzo despite his treason, but he was the main person involved. If his men also became victims of Danzo's machinations, Kakashi doubted that their leader would stand for it. He had even set Kakashi on the right path once again and given him a second chance when the young ANBU had started to doubt his own Kage. Sarutobi Hiruzen was a forgiving man, but he was also a protector to all.

During their debate, the topic of the election of the Yondaime Hokage had been brought up by Shikaku, who had just become the jōnin commander back then. Shimura Danzo voting for Orochimaru couldn't be considered a fault; after all, Orochimaru hadn't been labeled a nuke-nin at the time. Still, it didn't sit right with Kakashi and that specific information kept coming back to his mind.

All-day long, Kakashi had reevaluated the information he had about Danzo, his suspicions growing more and more. He had never questioned anything that he wasn't supposed to, avoiding to step on a line and too used to obeying the Hokage's order; but his motto was not to follow orders blindly, especially when it could endanger a comrade, and at the back of his mind, Kakashi knew that it would be considered as traitorous thoughts if his choices hadn't always aligned with the good of the village and with his leader's own decisions.

But now that faithful shinobis such as the Clan Heads of the InoShikaCho had pushed him to think more about the legitimacy of Danzo's actions, Kakashi's head was reeling with questionings.

A conversation, in particular, kept haunting him, and it was that, more than anything else, that had put him in the predicament where he currently found himself.

Outside of the Uchiha Police Station, Uchiha Fugaku was holding a pile of documents and seemed to be heading to his home when Kakashi accosted him.

"Fugaku-dono."

At the nod that he received, Kakashi pondered for a moment the way to word his questions. In the end, he decided to go straight to the point. Kushina-san had always said that with a man as composed as Fugaku, one had to be unpredictably blunt if they wanted a chance to read him. Sound advice, if it hadn't come from Kushina, and if she hadn't been infamous for loving to mess with him.

"Pardon my straight-forwardness, but something has been on my mind lately," Kakashi started, his voice controlled, his stare intense. "I always wondered why the Uchiha Police didn't fight against the Kyuubi during the attack."

Fugaku's eyes flashed red for a moment, and his jaw tensed imperceptibly, but he remained stoic, most likely used to such 'indirect' accusations.

Nevertheless, Kakashi wasn't fazed and carried on, determined to make his point of view heard. "Back then, Danzo-sama had informed me that with the Sharingan, I could have stopped it, but the younger generation had received orders not to take part in the fight."

"As did the Police Force," Fugaku interjected, visibly annoyed. "I shouldn't even have to tell you this. We received the order from Danzo-sama to focus solely on protecting the population and to lead the civilians to the shelters."

"Yes, of course, that is the mission of the Police after all." Kakashi nodded slowly, his mind racing. His heart was beating erratically as if it was trying to get out of his ribcage. "But…" But it didn't make sense. Why would this kind of order come from Danzo of all people…? He took care of steadying his voice before he resumed his interrogations. "Seeing that the Sharingan can control the Kyubi, shouldn't you have been allowed to partake in the fight?"

Fugaku's lips twitched downwards, a frown marring his face. "I would have thought so as well. But we needed men to protect directly the population."

Silence settled for a moment between them.

That wasn't an excuse.

Danzo had been the one to tell him about the special ability of the Sharingan where bijūs were concerned. He would have known that the Uchihas were a valuable help against the beast, and they could have asked genin and chūnin, no matter their age, to protect the civilians while Minato-sensei was getting help. The attempt at a coup and Shikaku's reflections resonated in his brain, a wave of cold anger began to spread in his being at the heavy implications. He could be wrong, he could be getting paranoid, but his instinct had never failed him; not since he had been set on the right path by his teammates.

"Do you think that you would have been able to stop the Kyuubi with your eyes, that day?"

When Fugaku closed his eyes in visible frustration, Kakashi didn't need to hear his answer to know what it meant.

Half-lidded eyes opened, Sharingan blazing and focused on the ground. "To talk about this today won't change the past, Hatake."

"I understand." Kakashi bowed, his hands clenched tightly into fists. "Thank you for your time," he saluted quickly, before shunshining away.

As he moved away in the direction of his apartment, he tried to reign the fury that was threatening to explode inside of him. Old feelings of regret and grief and _what-ifs_ reawakened, clouding the reasons why he had first started to question the war hawk motives.

'Ninjas never lose control of their emotions,' Kakashi repeated to himself, like a mantra. His thoughts wandered back to Minato's soothing presence and to Kushina's lively smile, and he couldn't help but tell himself that it wouldn't be the first time that he'd disobey a rule anyway.

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**To be continued**

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Can anyone tell that I love Ino? And Fugaku? And Kakashi? And Shikaku? And Inoichi?

The parts related to the plot may not be really developed, but I just want to show the main line of action and the rest happens in the background. We're here for the fluff after all u.u

The ages of the characters may be a bit confusing since we don't really have a defined timeline in canon, so I based them on the characters' birthdays: Naruto and Ino are 6, Sakura is 7, Kakashi is 20, Shisui is 14, Itachi has just turned 12, and Sai is about a year older than Ino (since we don't know his birthday anyway). This chapter is set in the month of June, and the massacre is supposed to happen next year, at the beginning of July.

If anyone's interested, I'm going to start posting drawing of some scenes from LOYS on my Tumblr. (shunshin-no-naruko)

Also, if you want to know the advancement of my writings, I update my profile regularly!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :) Take care everyone, I hope you're all doing fine! 3


	8. Chapter 8

Helloooo everyone :D I hope you're all doing well!

I struggled a lot to write this chapter. Most of the scenes didn't turn out as planned, and they kept getting longer and longer, and the scenes I _had_ planned had to be cut for the next chapter. I swear this story was first supposed to be a one-shot, then a short story of 10 chapters, but now we're easily heading to 30 chapters. GOSH THE SLOW BURN IS GETTING ON MY NERVES I WANT ROMANTIC FLUFF UGH

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**Chapter 8**

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Immersed in the subdued light of the bar, Shibi was sitting in the far corner, his eyes unfocused, his mind deep in thoughts.

A week earlier, he had received a missive from Inoichi. Although both their clans weren't that close, they had been faced with a common problem in the past. Danzo had wanted to take children from their clans; Fuu, of the Yamanaka Clan, and Shino, of the Aburame Clan, and Shibi's own son at that. In the end, Shibi's nephew, Torune, had volunteered to take his place, the Aburame Clan needing their heir after all. Both Clan Heads were aware of the honour that Shimura Danzo had bestowed upon them, and they truly felt proud at first… but they didn't like what their children had become.

Shibi had no more influence on his nephew, who seemed to distance himself from the clan. In fact, Torune seemed like he was losing himself, emptying from his personality, and Shibi couldn't do anything to help him.

It was usually considered that the Aburames were cold and distant by nature, that they didn't like to meddle with people, but they were actually just reserved and had a vast wealth inside, both emotionally and psychologically. Shibi knew the difference between an intellectual and analytical person and one who didn't have any more control over their own mind. So, when Inoichi's letter had informed him that something was going on underground, Shibi decided that he had to take action. Why? Because Aburames may be calm and reserved people, but when a situation called for it, they _ hit_.

A quite complicated seal had been drawn on Torune, and if Shibi wasn't a specialist in Fuinjutsu, he could recognize a basic seal of control. Moreover, the fact that it was put in the tongue was meaningful. The _ pronounced _ information was being controlled. And the fact that a loyal ninja of Konoha - of the _ Aburame Clan _ \- would be bound to bear such an insulting and degrading seal, and without Shibi's knowledge, no less? Impardonnable.

"You're gloomier than usual, Shibi. A penny for your thoughts?"

Awakened from his reverie by Tsume's raucous voice, his eyes focused again behind his glasses, his hand tightening around the drink he was holding.

"No need for a penny, Tsume."

She was watching him sharply, waiting to know the reason why he had called her.

After all, although it wasn't unusual for them to have a drink together, most of the time, Tsume was the one to drag him out of his compound and would share with him the latest news she had heard of. As shinobi bars had private tables surrounded by privacy seals, it allowed them to speak more freely than in any other place.

Shibi insisted that he wasn't into _ gossiping_. It was _ gathering intel_, a very, truly important task for a ninja.

And the information he had now was of utmost importance.

Of course, he had to let his former teammates know about them.

The clans would not stand by anymore, not when the safety of their clansmen wasn't as indisputable as it should have been.

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"Oh my! If this isn't Kakashi-kun!" a joyous voice laughed at the sight of the young ANBU who was leaning against a tree. "It's been a while! Your hair is as untamable as always I see." A pause. "Not that I have much to say in the matter."

The kid nodded at him. Maybe he should stop thinking of him as a kid but, meh, even Minato was still a kid to him, and Kakashi was Minato's kid, so. The kid.

"Jiraiya-sama. It's nice to see you seem to be doing well."

Raucous laughter echoed in the park. "So, why did you call the great Jiraiya the Gallant? Need some help to woe a fine lady?" the toad sage grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows.

When Minato had passed away, Jiraiya had promised himself to be there for both his children if needed. He knew that Naruko was safe in the village as of now, but Kakashi had always worried him.

Minato had put Kakashi in ANBU to keep him close to himself, and in extension, to Kushina. Letting Kakashi drown himself in the organization was not part of the plan.

After Minato's death, the teenager had refused to go back to do regular missions, and Jiraiya was in no place to intervene, but he could at least help by keeping an eye on him.

He was far from mastering the Hiraishin no Jutsu that had made Minato so infamous, but he was good enough at fūinjutsu to understand its functioning and to decipher the theory behind the seal around his special kunai.

Although Jiraiya couldn't teleport himself to the location of said-kunai, he had managed to tamper with it enough to be able to locate someone who would launch an alert by infusing their chakra in the seal. He had given the kunai to Kakashi, telling him that if he ever needed his help, he just needed to call him and he would come to him.

Unsurprisingly, Kakashi had never used it in the last seven years. He probably couldn't bring himself to lean on anyone anymore, and frankly, Jiraiya understood the sentiment.

So, when he had received an alert that led him to the borders of the Land of Fire, he had felt both relieved to know that his proposition hadn't fallen on deaf ears, and a bit concerned, because, what could push Kakashi to ask for his help?

"I'm barely acting as a messenger, actually," Kakashi clarified as he took a letter from his scroll pouch. "My teammates are resting a bit farther. We should be fine here."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and took the letter, not wasting a moment in reading it.

If Kakashi contacting him was out of the usual, _ Shikaku _doing so in such a secretive manner was even more suspicious and worrisome.

"The clans are feeling uneasy," Kakashi explained as the Sannin read the letter.

Jiraiya raised his eyes to his disciple's student, and a lopsided grin formed on his lips despite the calculating look on his face. "This sounds a lot like a rebellion, kid."

Kakashi turned his eyes to the side in a seemingly nonchalant way, but the Toad Sage knew him well enough to recognize the barely restrained anger hidden behind the movement.

"Did you know that Danzo had let Minato-sensei die?"

All traces of humour disappeared from Jiraiya's face.

The kid knew how to make him listen.

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Ever since Ino had learnt about Naruto's family - or rather, about Naruto's lack of knowledge on her family, she couldn't stop thinking about them.

She had talked to Sakura about it, and they had both agreed to look into it and inform their friend about any discovery they may make.

If Naruto's parents had been ninjas, Ino was sure that her dad would know about them. She had tried to ask him many times over the last two weeks, but he had always found a way to get away without answering her. That wasn't like him; usually, he was always eager to teach her everything he knew and enlighten her in whatever questionings she may have. His evasive answers and the way he always disappeared when she brought up the subject were getting annoying. In the end, she lost patience and decided that if he didn't give her a straight answer, then she would look for it herself.

Since he was not at home that day (he had been busy lately, somehow), Ino entered her father's study and undertook to search for pictures if he had any. Usually, she knew not to look into his stuff when he wasn't there, but hey, he had asked for it.

After closing the door behind her, Ino scanned the room thoughtfully. A few piles of paperwork were organized on his desk, but they had to be related to his current work. She wouldn't be able to learn anything from them about people who had died years ago, and even if it was a possibility, she wouldn't mess up with her dad's work. Her eyes trailed off to the walls surrounding the desk. They were draped with bookshelves, and Ino didn't understand the meaning of half the titles of the books.

She walked inside the study and read a few titles, but none of those could help her.

When she looked around her again, her attention was drawn to the shelf behind the desk, on which a framed picture was put. She grabbed the chair in front of the desk and pushed it right under the shelf before she stood on it.

Near the shelf, an old ninja vest was hanging. If she remembered correctly, it was the one her dad had worn during the war. Now that most of his work was done in the village, he didn't wear it much anymore. The photograph that she had spotted earlier was that of his genin team, and she recognized easily Shikaku-ojisan and Choza-ojisan. Shikamaru looked so much like his dad! She didn't recognize the woman standing behind the three of them, but she could easily guess that it must have been their teacher at the time.

Her eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of a book near the picture. There! _ That _was what she had been looking for! She grabbed the picture album her father had once shown her and sat on the chair before putting the album on her lap. Her mom always said that her dad was a nostalgic person, which was why he tended to keep old stuff from his young days in there.

Ino browsed through the album and smiled at the sight of all the pictures of her dad when he was young. When he was her age, his hair was way shorter than it was now, tied in a short ponytail, and she was amazed to see how much they looked alike. That was probably the reason why her mother called her "a daddy's girl"; she was every bit like him after all. Below each picture, there was a little note written by her dad. If she could find a note about an Uzumaki, that would be it! And well, seeing how much Ino looked like her own father, chances were that Naru would also look like her parents. She needed to look for someone with her friend's colouring and a similar face.

The photographs were taken over the years, from when her father entered the Academy to when he became an adult, and at some point, she was so engrossed in the images relating her father's life that she almost forgot her first purpose. She got her focus back when she turned a page, and for a moment, she could have sworn that she saw Naruto. But instead, it was a teenager who was wearing a white hoodie and had a ninja headband tied around his head. His spiky blond hair was just like Naruto's and he had the kindest eyes she had ever seen, coloured in the same shade of blue as Naruto's.

He. Was. So. _ Pretty_.

And that smile was so angelic. How had she never met him?!

Many people were surrounding him. Her dad was above him, ruffling his hair, and other ninjas were around, grabbing his shoulders or headlocking him. The guy was just grinning at the camera, his hands in his pockets, as if he weren't even trying to get away from his situation.

Her eyes trailed to the note under the picture.

_ 'Minato's the first to become a j__ō__nin at 15! Still a sissy pretty princess.' _

Uh-uh. Even her dad called him pretty. Because he really _was_. Of course, Sai was the love of her life, but she could stare at this picture for hours and not get bored.

After a long moment, she shook herself, trying to remember what she was doing there in the first place.

Right! Naruto's parents!

Could it be that this guy was Naruto's father? They didn't have the exact same face, but she had never seen anyone with as many similarities with Naruto as him. And, if he was Naru's dad indeed, then… Then he was dead. Which was why she had never met him.

Her heart sank. It was a bit strange. She already knew that Naruto's parents were dead, but seeing this face, this grinning and happy face, and thinking that he was gone… The memory of Shin's death came back to mind, and she shook her head. She shouldn't be having negative thoughts now. Sai was busy during the day, but she always wrote to him at night, and in the morning, she never failed to find a drawing in response. There was no need to be sad about it. Sai was fine, and so was Naruto. Now, she had to find information about her friend's parents, and she seemed to be on the right path of doing so!

She continued to browse through the album, keeping an eye open for other pictures of Minato and notes about his last name (was he really an Uzumaki?). She did find many more pictures of him until she reached a photograph where he was wearing a long cloak over his uniform, and the Hokage hat, and the note said _ 'Long live the Yondaime Hokage'_.

Ino stared at the note, then back at the picture, and her eyes widened at the realization that this was the Yondaime Hokage and- Minato, the handsome-pretty-boy, was maybe Naruto's dad and the _ Yondaime Hokage _ and- _ Naruto's dad was the Yondaime Hokage _?!

This wasn't possible! Everyone would have realized it if Naruto was the Hokage's daughter, especially if they had the same last name, and why would the villagers mistreat Naruto then? Why wouldn't Naruto be aware of her heritage anyway? She had been told that her parents were ninjas, so obviously, they weren't unknown; it didn't make sense that their identities wouldn't be revealed to her…

Another fact clicked in Ino's mind. The Sandaime Hokage was the one who told Naruto about her parents. And he was the one to name her as well. If the old man Naruto was so familiar with was the Hokage himself, it must have been because she was someone important. And if her parentage was to be kept a secret… It was because her _ parents _ were important people.

Ino still remembered when, at the beginning of the Academy year, her father had told her about her classmate's incident, Hyūga Hinata.

To be from a famous family meant that enemy villages would target her. Ino had been taught early on to never talk about clan secrets and to be able to keep her mouth shut about important matters and relationships concerning ninja families. Moreover, like ninjas, they had to lead secretive lives and missions, so that was a skill she had to develop from a young age.

This being said, keeping the information a secret from enemies or from the public was one thing, but… To keep it from Naruto herself? About her _ parents_? That was too much! Naruto just had to keep secrets as well, and if she didn't know how to do so just yet, she would learn to, as Ino did. She had to anyway, if she wanted to become Hokage.

Slowly, she stood up on the chair and put back the photo-album into place. She had first thought that if she could find a picture from at least one of her parents, she would take it so that Naruto could see it as well. But if it was really the Yondaime Hokage, they could find pictures of him in bookshops as well, and her dad would never find out about what she had done. If he had refused to answer her about Naruto's parents for the last weeks… well, she knew the reason why, now.

Once the album was settled, Ino was about to get off the chair, when she noticed a black book with a card stuck on it.

_ 'Happy birthday Goldilocks!' _

Letting curiosity get the better of her, she grabbed it to have a look. Who knew what she could find there.

The names of many people were written in different colours inside the cover of the book. She recognized quickly the names of Shikaku-ojisan and Choza-ojisan. There was the name of Minato as well! The Yondaime Hokage had given a birthday gift to her dad! Did that mean that Naruto's father and hers were close friends then? That was… such a nice thought!

She looked at the first page, and her eyes widened when she read the title.

_ Iwa Bingo Book, x67. _

Bingo Book? What did that mean? Now that she thought about it, the title wasn't even written on the front page, the cover was just black. Ino frowned thoughtfully. It could have been a diary, but she didn't understand what it would have to do with Iwa… and why it would be nice enough to be given as a birthday gift to her father.

Each page presented a ninja, with a frontal picture, a profile picture, and a picture of their back. Below the photographs, there was information on their names, ninja village, and a quick description.

As she turned the pages, Ino pouted, perplexed, her frown still in place. It was a strange birthday present. She hoped that her friends had better taste than that.

It wasn't until she reached the _ Konoha ninjas _ section that her interest was awakened. The first one to be presented was none other than the Yondaime Hokage! Ino sighed wistfully. How could a man be so beautiful? If Naruto ended up looking like him when she grew up, she would be such a looker!

_ Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash of Konoha. _

_ S-rank j__ō__nin. _

_ Killed a thousand Iwa-nin in a single night, alone. One-man-army. Incredible speed. Only flashes of yellow are seen when in action. Wide range of ninjutsu. Beware of kunai. Flee-on-sight. _

Wow. Ino didn't understand everything, other than the fact that Yondaime-sama was definitely a _ legend_!

A few notes were written in different colours. She recognized them as the same colours used to write the names at the beginning of the book.

_ 'Flee-on-sight, Shinobis, or you'll end up forever smitten with this pretty face!' _

_ 'So much for an S-rank. They didn't see him bawling his eyes out when he watched Princess Sana at the theatre' 'They would still have ended up smitten though' _

_ 'Imagine if they saw him in his pink apron.' _

Ino blinked. She really wanted to know what the Yondaime looked like wearing a pink apron as he cried for a children's theatre play. She put her head between her hands. She was getting so curious about him. She wondered if her dad would agree to tell her stories about him. Then she could tell them to Naruto.

She did a double-take at the thought.

But… His last-name was Namikaze, not Uzumaki. Did that mean that… he _wasn't _ Naruto's dad? But they looked so much alike!

She scowled. She couldn't give false information to Naru, it would be too cruel to give her such happiness that turned out to be fake in the end. But it would mean that she was back to square one. Unless Uzumaki was a fake name?

She looked at the rest of the pages, deep in thoughts.

She didn't recognize the next few faces but was surprised to see that some were very young.

It wasn't until she stumbled on the page of a woman with long, deep red hair that sported a wide grin and was doing the peace sign at the camera that she stopped again. She was the first person who didn't look serious in the book. And that attitude was so...

When Ino read the description though, the beat of her heart quickened and she gasped in surprise.

_ Uzumaki Kushina, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero of Konoha. _

_ A-rank j__ō__nin. _

_ Insane. Chains. Fuinjutsu. Uzumaki. Beware of the hair. Carries a frying pan, not to cook. _

Uzumaki. _ Uzumaki_.

She looked back at the picture. At the grin. At the pose.

That was_ so _ Naruto!

On the page, the word _ Insane _ was crossed, and below it was written the word _ Badass. _

Other notes were scribbled on the paper in different colours.

_ 'Actually, I believe that insane is spot on.' 'Who's the bitch who wrote this?' _

_ 'Who weaponizes their HAIR?' _

_ 'Who weaponizes a FRYING PAN?' 'It's actually pretty dangerous in her hands, she knocked me out once while we were cooking together. She took the habit of carrying it in a scroll ever since.' 'Insane, I'm telling you.' _

Ino couldn't believe it. This Kushina _ had _ to be Naruto's mother! Trust Naru's mom to use about anything to prank people. What's more, she was sure that she had seen her face before.

She hurriedly stood up to get back the picture album and she leafed through the pages, focusing more on long red hair rather than on spiky blond this time.

And she found it. It wasn't just pictures of Kushina though; Namikaze Minato was _always _with her. She wondered how she had missed her the first time around.

On the first picture that she had noticed of the Yondaime, when he had become a jōnin at 15, Kushina was one of the people standing by his side, with an arm around his shoulder, their cheeks crashed against each other and matching smiles on their faces. Now that she paid attention to her, her face was remarkably similar to Naruto's; how had she not noticed it before?

Ah. She was far too focused on Yondaime-sama's beauty, that was why. Ino had to work on her resistance to beautiful persons.

And that red hair was so eye-catching. But it was so long and seemed so silky, her hair was beautiful. Ino passed her hand in her short hair. She should probably let it grow as well. Furthermore, didn't they say in the black book that she used her hair as a _ weapon_?

The next picture she stumbled on with the Uzumaki lady (and Naruto's mother, Ino was_ sure _ of it) was one of four people, Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato, and two other persons that… seemed familiar somehow.

Below it, her father had written another note.

_ 'Guess who's on a double-date? Can't believe the village hasn't been blown up yet. ' _

A double date. _ A DATE. _

Naruto's parents were out with another couple!

She leaned to look at them in detail. Both Kushina and Yondaime-sama were sporting cheeky grins while they were grabbing a man, a man with black eyes and dark hair; and she had definitely seen that frown somewhe-

Her eyes widened in recognition.

That was the Police Chief! Fugaku-sama was being hugged (or strangled) from behind by Naruto's parents while a lady was looking at them, laughing and pinching his cheek. Fugaku-sama just looked annoyed and utterly _done_.

And if she had had any doubt about the Yondaime Hokage being Naruto's dad left, and of Uzumaki Kushina being her mother, now they _had _to be. Naruto was a perfect mix of both of them.

She found a few more of Kushina's, but one especially caught her interest. And for once, Yondaime-sama wasn't on the picture.

She was standing on the side, her belly huge - wait, _ she was pregnant! _ -, grinning and making the peace sign with a hand. A little boy (who looked just like Sasuke-kun?!) was grabbing her green dress with his tiny hand, a little smile on his face, and near him, Choza-ojisan was holding a plate of biscuits. In the background, Ino's father and Shikaku-ojisan were standing back to the camera, glaring and shouting at each other. Each of them was holding a paintbrush, and half of the room (and half of their clothes) was painted in orange.

As usual, a short description of the picture was written below it.

_ A-rank mission to decorate the Habanero's future little devil's room. (Taken by Kakashi.) _

Oh.

_ Oh! _

This was Naruto's room!

And it was _orange_.

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.

In the quiet of the library, Sakura was sitting comfortably on a beanbag, a book between her hands.

When Ino had suggested that they find information about Naruto's parents, Sakura had had to think of a way to do this research. She had no one to whom she could ask about ninja figures, so she went to her usual source of information: books. She wasn't sure that she could find anything about Naruto's parents specifically, but maybe about her family?

She had asked the librarian about where she could find a book about ninjas families, and Sakura was led to an aisle about Clans and Ninjas. Most books were technical, relating how to found a clan, the internal functioning of most ninja clans, clan politics and so on. She wasn't sure that Uzumaki was a clan name anyway, but that was her best shot. After browsing the titles of the books at her disposal, she found a huge encyclopedia on the History shelf.

_ Clans Repertoire. _

Sakura grabbed it with both hands and laid it on the ground before she sat, legs crossed, in front of it. It was far too heavy, so she preferred to first see what it was about before taking it.

On the back cover, she could see that it had been published 20 years ago, and it listed all ninja clans known through history and wars.

She skipped the introduction and started to look directly at the content of the book.

She stumbled on the Tsukino clan who had a double-page dedicated to them. Under their clan name was drawn their clan symbol, a crescent moon, as well as the drawing of a person. The spaces where their eyes, nose and mouth should be located were blank, but in the middle of their forehead, there was a purple crescent moon and their shoulder-length hair was painted in light violet colour. Underneath, in the legend, a little text described the physical specificities of the clansmen, apparently recognizable thanks to the tattoo in the middle of their forehead and their hair colour. The next paragraphs explained what was known of the clans' history during the Clan Wars, their known abilities as well as their usual affiliation in the nations and their most famous clansmen in the last fifty years.

Sakura's eyes lit up at the realization. The information was not very detailed, but it was more than enough! She quickly searched for the name Uzumaki, but as she leafed through the pages, she soon realized that the clans were put in complete disorders. That meant that she would have to read each page to find them; _ if _they existed. She let out a long suffering-sigh. She really, _ really _hoped that there would be an Uzumaki Clan because reading this book was going to be very long. The things that she wouldn't do for her friends. Even so, she reasoned that even if she didn't find anything about Naruto's family name, she could find something about ninjas with blue eyes and blond hair like Naruto's, and she would at least learn about the ninja clans all over the world, which was a really nice kind of knowledge to have. Filled with determination, she nodded to herself and started to read on the spot, still seated on the ground in front of the bookshelves.

Since it was an important book, she wasn't allowed to take it home, so she had to come back to work on it every day and allowed herself one to two hours.

She had spent days and days reading it, and she still had no clue about Uzumakis. It didn't help that she had found many interesting clans to read about, and she might have lost some time reading about them instead.

The first one to hold her attention was the Senju Clan. The Senju name was one of the first ones to pop up during class when she had started the Academy, being the last name of two Hokages.

The Senju Clan didn't seem to have specific physical features, although most of the time, their hair was either black or white. They were the co-founders of Konohagakure no Sato, the first shinobi village, and it was entirely affiliated to Konoha. They were infamous as _ The Clan with a Thousand Skills_, their skillset ranging from kenjutsu to ninjutsu (symbols of water and earth were put in parenthesis), and senjutsu, hence their name. Sakura knew that ninjutsu was the art of wielding chakra, but she had no idea of what kenjutsu and senjutsu could be. She noted them to read about it later on.

As for the famous clansmen, the most notable ones over the last fifty years were Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage who had a kekkei genkai (noted), the Mokuton (noted), that he wielded so well that he had apparently grown the forest of Konoha himself, which was how he earned the name _ Senju of the Forest _ ; Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage who was rumoured to have created over a thousand techniques and became infamous for his kinjutsu (noted _ ) _ and for setting up the Ninja Academy System (but how did they learn the ninja basis before then?); and finally, Senju Tsunade, a kunoichi who had revolutionized iryōninjutsu (noted) and became the unique medic-nin who was allowed to be a frontline fighter as well as being a healer.

Sakura was awed by the information that she read about Senju Tsunade. She was the first kunoichi Sakura read about, and she sounded so strong and amazing! Just in case, she noted her name as well. It would be nice to have a role model after all.

Another clan to especially hold her attention was the Yamanaka Clan; it made Sakura especially excited to learn about her friend's family. She tilted her head at the sight of their clan symbol. It looked strangely like an umbrella. She wondered if it had a meaning? They also usually had a light hair colour, ranging from light brown to auburn to blonde, as well as pupilless eyes. Sakura nodded. Yeah, it made sense. Ino corresponded completely to this description.

The Yamanaka Clan was affiliated to Konohagakure no Sato, and they had joined the village at the beginning of the Foundation of the Five Nations. They were mostly known for their mind manipulation techniques. It was rumoured that their pupilless eyes allowed them to stare right into people's souls. Sakura gasped at that. She had first wondered if it were true, but after pondering for a bit, she had decided that it had to be. Ino always knew everything and was a good judge of character. She would have to ask her what a soul looked like.

The most famous Yamanaka over the last fifty years was Yamanaka Yuu, who had been able to read an entire army's thoughts during the First Shinobi World War, leading Konoha to victory. Sakura shivered, in both amazement and worry. She would _ never _ lie to Ino or have any nasty thoughts around her.

And she had kept reading more and more, taking notes whenever something caught her interest, learning about the many clans across the nations, and of Konoha's. She was surprised to realize that quite a few of her classmates were part of a clan as well.

When it came to Naruto though, she had seen many pictures of people with blonde hair and blue eyes, resembling her friend's, but they were from Kumogakure. None of them was Uzumaki though. She didn't quite like the idea; what if she told Naruto, and the latter didn't like it? Or, _ worse_, what if Naruto decided to leave Konoha for Kumo? That would be terrible!

It was at the end of the second week, while she was immersed in her reading and comfortably seated in her beanbag, that she suddenly found it.

Uzumaki Clan.

She had first read the name, had started reading the description, before she looked up quickly at the title of the page again.

Uzumaki Clan. _ The Uzumaki Clan! _

She had screamed before she covered violently her mouth with both her hands, and she stared with wide eyes, disbelieving.

They existed. The Uzumaki Clan existed. She had found Naruto's family!

She was so giddy she would barely contain her excitement, and she quickly went back to her reading.

The Uzumaki Clan's clan symbol was that of a red spiral that seemed awfully familiar to her, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where she had seen it. She drew it on a new page because she didn't want to waste time trying to remember, but she also knew that she had the answer at the back of her mind. Physically, they usually had long straight red hair. Sakura hummed. Weird, that didn't look like Naruto. But the book said _usually_, so it meant that it wasn't necessarily true.

The Uzumakis were the leaders of the Land of Whirlpool, and were affiliated to Uzushiogakure no Sato. Sakura blinked. Wait, what? She re-read the description before her eyes were drawn to a tiny drawing of the Land of Whirlpool, and Uzushio was located at the edge of the land. Whirlpool… was… a _ country_? The Uzumaki Clan lead a _ country_, just like the Land of Fire, _ and _the ninja village inside it? Even the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan didn't do that! Wow!

Uzushiogakure was considered as the sister village of Konohagakure. The Uzumaki Clan was called _the Clan of Longevity _because of the incredible life-force of their clansmen. It was rumoured that drinking an Uzumaki's blood could extend one's lifespan. Sakura grimaced. What kind of ability was that?! It was crazy.

They were infamous for their kenjutsu and no one had ever reached their level in the arts of fūinjutsu (noted). The most famous ones were Uzumaki Ryuzen, the last Daimyo of Uzu no Kuni, as well Uzumaki Kouen, the last Uzumaki Clan leader, who could take one's soul if they ever stepped on his territory, taking their lives to prolong his. Wow.

However, a week after the end of the Second Shinobi World War, on the 11th of April of the year 50, the Land of Whirlpool was completely destroyed during a night by the joint alliances of many hidden ninja villages, as their ability in fūinjutsu was too feared in the nations. The few survivors had scattered all over the elemental nations and stayed hidden most of the time, as the simple ring of their names was enough to bring back enemies to end their slaughter.

Sakura's shoulders sagged, her spike of energy suddenly lost, and she stared at the pages with horror in her eyes.

Naruto's whole family had been destroyed. Everyone was killed because they were too strong at… at a ninja art? What was even fūinjutsu? It was said that there were a few survivors though. Maybe not in Konoha, or even in Fire Country, but they were alive, somewhere. They had to stay hidden if they didn't want to be killed but, but then, why didn't Naruto hide as well? Unless…

Dread filled Sakura's chest and she let out a silent whimper. Was that the reason why everyone was so mean to Naruto?

That was… That was horrible. It was so unfair.

With the book open on her lap, Sakura leaned slowly against the beanbag and wondered whether she should tell Naruto about it. What if it made her sad in the end? That was not what she wanted. When she had started researching this, she had wanted to find information that would make Naruto happy. Not… Not tell her that people wanted her clan dead and that she was most likely treated the way she was because of... of the said-_ clan name_.

In spite of her doubts, she wrote everything related to the Uzumaki Clan on a paper, just in case, and put back the encyclopedia in place before she went back home.

Once she found herself alone in her bedroom, she put all of her notes on her desk and laid down on her bed sloppily, her eyes fixated on the ceiling and her mind full of questions.

The best she could do was probably to tell Ino about it. But she felt bad about hiding something like that from Naruto. Then again, her friend had never asked her to find out about her family, could she get angry because of her? Sakura didn't think that was possible, Naruto _never _got angry at her but… She could be sad. And Sakura wanted to avoid that at all cost, her friend had enough trouble as it was.

But she didn't want to wait until the next day to talk about it. And her parents were out of the question; they didn't like Naruto either.

Sakura's eyes watered. That was _unfair_.

All of a sudden, she stood up and wiped her unshed tears before she went to fetch a brush on her desk. She sat on her chair promptly, and she started to write to her soulmate her questioning. After all, he may be annoying, but he was a good listener, and he was… nice when he tried to be. Maybe he would know what to do in such a situation.

_ Say, if you know something about your friend that she doesn't know, but you're scared it's going to hurt her, will you still tell her about it? I want to help her, but I don't want to make her sad. _

She waited for an answer, but nothing was written back for quite a few hours. In the end, she gave up; maybe he didn't like talking about problems.

She was proved wrong, though, when she went to sleep after dinner and felt a light tingling on her arm. Oh! He had probably been busy then, she had judged him too fast!

_ It depends. You should probably ask your friend about her opinion on the matter. _

Or not.

Sakura pouted. Come on, if she could, she would have done just that already.

_ You're not helping. _

Another answer followed quickly afterwards, more complete and more telling this time.

_ You can always try to say it in a way that won't hurt her, try to subdue the pain. And ask her just how much information she wants to have. After all, it might be better that your friend learns whatever you know from you, who care about her, rather than from someone else. _

Oh. It was better that Naruto learnt about her family from her rather than from someone else. Yes, she cared about Naruto. And if she told her, she would make sure to remind her that they would still be friends no matter what. Sakura had noticed how uneasy and insecure Naruto would get whenever the subject of _people _was breached, and she wouldn't let her keep on being unsettled by that. It would be terrible if one of the ill-intentioned people were the ones to tell her about her family and use it to hurt her. She wouldn't let it happen.

_ Thank you. _

So, she would tell Naruto. She just had to find a way to tell her nicely about her clan. Maybe insist on the fact that she still had family alive, and she just had to find them. Of course, Sakura would help, and she was sure that Ino would be in as well.

But there still was a question weighing on Sakura's mind. And her soulmate was proving very efficient in getting her answers.

_ By the way, do you know what's f__ū__injutsu? _

_ Why the question? _

She blinked. What was _that _question?

_ I asked first. I read it in a book and I didn't understand it. _

He took some time before answering, but he still did in the end.

_ It's the ninja art of sealing. It consists of locking or freeing an object or chakra in or from another object. _

Sealing? Locking and freeing? In or from, what?

That… still didn't make much sense to her. She copied it on a paper so that she could think about it the next day after resting. She had already done a lot of reading, and she needed to sleep now.

_ Thank you. It's about what I learnt about my friend. That's part of what I have to explain to her. Good night. _

.

.

.

What.

Kakashi stared at Sakura's answer, his eyes round, the drumming of his heart resounding in his ears, and he would never admit it to anyone, but that baby brat of a soulmate of his had actually managed to freak him out more than anyone had in the last five years.

Fuinjutsu? A friend? It was going to make her sad?

As in, Naruto was her friend and something to do with fūinjutsu (like a giant monster sealed inside of her body by her father) was going to hurt her?

That damned little- what the _ hell _ \- how did she even _ find out, in a freaking book no least- _ and what did she mean by _ good night _ \- he was _ losing it. _

Of course, he just _ had _ to be paired with another little genius.

A little genius who had apparently fallen asleep because _ she wasn't answering him anymore_.

_ What do you mean? _

_ What did you find out? _

_ What friend are you talking about? _

_ You didn't fall asleep on me did you? _

_ I answered you nicely, you could at least answer me back, don't you think? _

_ You better not have fallen asleep. _

_ Oï, Ribbon. _

_ Wake up. _

_ I have no scruple in writing on your whole body you know. _

"Kakashi-senpai?"

"Don't," Kakashi muttered. "Don't say anything. Just go back to sleep, Itachi, we're leaving early tomorrow."

He didn't even look up to see his subordinate staring at him as if he had just gained another Sharingan eye.

Little geniuses and their way of making him feel like he was an idiot.

That was supposed to be _ his _ thing.

_ Did you know that bees sometimes sting other bees? _

.

.

.

A faint and warm tingle propagated in Naruto's arm, like a sweet caress. She slowly came to consciousness, a happy smile outlining her face when she opened her eyes to see the message her soulmate had written to her.

_ Good morning, Beautiful. Time to wake up. _

Ever since her soulmate's comeback from his long mission, Naruto had begun to write a morning message to him whenever she woke up. For a few days, he had simply answered her, but after a while, he started to write to her first, helping her wake up in the process. She was becoming more and more sensitive to the writings, in a positive way. Whenever he wrote to her, she felt warm and calm and light, as if she were walking on a cloud.

She grabbed the brush on her nightstand and wrote right under his message.

_ Good morning! _

She stood up and went to her bathroom to wash her face, when another message came in response. Strange, in the morning they didn't talk much usually.

_ I'll be absent for a little while. I'll contact you when I'll be back. _

Naruto stared in surprise. And maybe a bit of disappointment.

_ When will you come back? _

_ It should be just a few days this time. Probably a week at most. _

Oh. That… was still pretty long, but that should be fine.

_ Okay. I'll be waiting for you then! _

She wondered though. What did he do during his absences?

.

.

.

"Oh, Sakura-chan is here, dattebayo!"

Upon entering the classroom and hearing her name be called, Sakura looked towards her friends who were already seated in their place. She joined them stomping her foot loudly, an exasperated expression on her face and anger burning in her eyes.

Naruto's smile tensed and she lowered her waving hand. "Eh… Sakura-chan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she screeched as she sat down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she turned her gaze to her friends. "Sorry…" Sakura mumbled apologetically. She shouldn't unleash her anger on them.

Naruto was staring at her like she had gone crazy, contrary to Ino who looked barely curious, her chin resting on her palm.

"Your husband?" Ino guessed.

"He wrote all over my body!" Sakura whined with volume. "There was scribbles everywhere, even on my back and, and on _ my butt_! I had to take a shower and scrub for hours and now my skin is aching!" She banged the table with her fists, itching to hurt _someone_. "When I find him I'm gonna shave his hair!"

"Oh!" Naruto raised her hand. "If you wanna prank him, I can help!" Then, she looked up thoughtfully. "Unless he's already bald…"

Sakura groaned and crossed her arms as she sagged in her seat.

That idiot couldn't be helpful without going back to writing nonsense! So, what if an entire town in the Land of Earth was constructed under a rock? Well, she might have found that a little interesting, if she didn't have to wash everything up before going to school! It didn't help that her mother had gotten curious about everything that he had written and she had tried to read his stupid facts while Sakura was taking her shower. The beginning of the day had been so weird! The only places that hadn't been covered with ink were her toes, her fingers and her shoulders! Those were, like, the easiest places to wash!

After taking a bath, she had asked him what the little stunt was for, and he had just… asked her what she had discovered about her friend?

Was he lonely or something? Couldn't he sleep and talk normally during the day? She was so annoyed that she didn't even want to keep him company at the moment!

Because Sakura was still a nice and polite girl, she had answered him that she had found out information about the friend's clan, although it wasn't much.

His answer?

_ Ah. _

He had just replied "Ah" before he went completely silent despite the messages that she wrote back to him. She was going to stab him with a carrot at their first meeting.

Because of that stupid Dog, she had arrived two hours late at school, all of her visible body parts were pink and she was in a foul mood.

A light tug at her sleeve made her glance at Ino who was sitting by her side.

"Hey," her blonde friend whispered, "I found something about Naruto's parents."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up and all her anger dissipated, the information she had found on the previous day coming back to mind.

"Oh." Sakura leaned towards Ino, shooting a look at Naruto who was headbutting Kiba a bit farther for a reason that she had missed. "Me too," she added to Ino in a subdued voice. "Not her parents, but her clan."

Ino gasped at her revelation. "Naruto has a clan?"

Her question put a grimace on Sakura's face. "It's… a bit complicated. I'd like to explain that when we're alone. Actually… maybe you'll have an idea of how to tell her about it."

The blonde heiress's eyes narrowed, but she still nodded in silence. "I understand. What I'm gonna say has to stay a secret too. We should tell Naruto after school."

Sakura agreed, although she couldn't help but wonder what else Ino had found that sounded so sensitive.

.

.

.

As soon as she got out of school, Naruto had dashed to her apartment, her mind screaming that _ Sakura-chan and Ino-chan were coming to her home! _ For some reason, they had both decided to come to visit her, because they had something important to tell her. They just had to tell their parents first, before joining her right afterwards.

When they had arrived, Ino had insisted so much on the fact that everything that would be said had to stay a secret, because it could become too dangerous, that Naruto had started to freak out.

It didn't help that Sakura had confessed that she had hesitated to talk to them about whatever she had found out, because she was worried her knowledge would do more harm than good.

"But we have to tell each other _ everything_, remember?" Naruto had parroted the words that Ino had told her shortly after they had become friends.

Naruto hadn't, in no way, expected them to talk to her about her family.

There was so much information that at some point, her head had started to hurt and her vision had blurred slightly.

She had _ a clan_. People from her family who were somewhere around the world. She could recognize them with their red hair and they were known for being strong ninjas, just like she wanted to be!

She truly had parents. Ninja parents with _ names _ and _ faces_.

"I took a picture in Daddy's album, but I didn't tell him I took it," Ino explained when she had handed to her a photo of her _ parents_. "I hope he won't notice. But there are more pictures so if you want to see them, you can come to my home when Daddy's not here and we can break in his study together."

After all the revelations that they did, that had been the last straw, and as she looked at her parents' faces, Naruto started to cry like she had never before.

Her mom had long red hair (_ like the people of her _clan), and she was an awesome ninja, and Naruto absolutely loved her smile.

Her dad had her eyes and her hair and he was the Hokage. The Yondaime Hokage that she admired so much!

They were standing, cheek against cheek, both of them doing a V sign with one of their hands. Naruto's father, _ Minato_, was wearing a light blue yukata with patterns of white leaves, and her mother, _ Kushina_, had her long hair tied in a long braid and wore a dark violet kimono with red flowers drawn all over it.

Both girls had enveloped her in a hug, at a loss of what else to do.

She was so happy.

She was _ so happy_.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't find happier news," Sakura said, "But we'll help you find your family!" she added with conviction.

Naruto shook her head and buried it between her friends' shoulders as she hugged them tighter.

It didn't matter.

Because when she was with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan, she felt that she knew what having a family was like.

**.**

**To be continued**

**.**

* * *

Yeah, I know, Ino and Sakura have great timing; bear with me this is fanfiction u.u Or, you know, Fate?

It feels like I'm neglecting Shisui, despite the fact that the summary makes it sound like he's the main focus, I miss him ;_; I'll have to rewrite the summary. If anyone has an idea for a more fitting one, I'm all ears!

Also I really want to **thank you all**, you're all so nice and lovely and encouraging, I wouldn't enjoy writing this story as much as I do without you. Your comments make me so happy, thank you so much for your support, you're amazing!


	9. Chapter 9

Yo! o/

Such a quick update huh? Don't get used to it, it's an accident. For real. This chapter is also shorter than the lasts, but I figured that it might be more interesting to have shorter chapters posted in a shorter period, but, well, you can tell me what you prefer!

Have a nice read :D

* * *

**.**

**Chapter 9**

**. **

Naruto was lying on her bed, her head buried in her pillow. With her eyes wide open, she was staring at her arm wishfully. She had woken up earlier than usual, and unable to go back to sleep, she had started to wait for a message, a tingle, a sign.

Anything.

However, when her alarm clock finally rang, she sighed and rolled in defeat to turn it off. Yet another day when her soulmate wouldn't write to her. She wondered if he was fine. Was he eating properly? If she knew him, she would ask him to go to the Ramen Shop together.

Naruto slowly rubbed her eyes. It had been so long since they had last talked. She missed him.

She stood up and turned to her night-table where the framed picture of her parents was standing. Ino-chan had offered the frame to her a few days after giving her the photograph, and it never left the side of her bed, alongside a brush to write to her soulmate. She took the picture in her hands and watched it for a moment before a smile started to form on her lips. As she usually did since the past month, she kissed both the faces of her dad and her mom, and put down the frame in its place.

It was just a matter of time. Her soulmate would be back soon. He always came back.

Filled with energy, she walked towards her window and opened it. The sun was still rising, and a mix of colours was painting the sky. The sight never failed to amaze her. She put her elbows on the edge of the window and laid her head between her hands to watch the scenery.

What she preferred about it was, without a doubt, the view on the Hokage mountain where her father's face was sculpted, looming right in front of her, as if he had always been watching her. She grinned when her eyes landed on him.

"Good morning Daddy!"

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.

.

Finally, that damned mission was over.

Finally, he could return to Konoha.

Shisui had rarely felt so disgusted with himself. He knew,_ he knew_ that he was doing it for the good of his village, of his clan, for his mother, for Itachi, but… but, the screams, the helplessness, _the children_. His eyes stung behind his mask, and his stomach clenched. He wanted to throw up. That was why despite being a proud ninja of Konoha, he had always hated the very concept of the ANBU.

And to think that Itachi was already going through it all…

He couldn't complain. Not when his little cousin had to go through the same nightmare.

"Well done, Team," his leader said in a monotonous voice. "We'll rest for two hours before heading back to the village. Any objections?"

Yes_._

He didn't want to rest.

He wanted to go back home. _Right now_.

Shisui understood sacrifice. He could kill and die for his village without blinking, with no regret or remorse. He was a hardened shinobi, and he would do anything for his home.

But there was a difference between the kills he had to carry out during the war, against ninjas who were there to kill as well, and the kills in times of peace against untrained civilians, who were completely lost without their guards. And the looks of terror and loss in their children's eyes, who didn't even get what was going on around them… Why couldn't they discuss the matter and negotiate, instead of reaching such a point? Shisui may be completely loyal to Konoha, but sometimes, just knowing that it was for the good of the village wasn't enough.

He couldn't even call that a fight. It had been a plain slaughter.

How could he talk about his desire for peace, when he kept cementing hate and grief despite the absence of war? Were death and blood so necessary even in such times?

Maybe they were. But he hated it.

From time to time, he wanted to pretend that there was no other way, that he should get used to it and accept it for the greater good… But the very thought made him sick.

As he sat down against a tree, Shisui waited impatiently for those damned two hours to pass before he could finally head back home and remember; remember _why_ he was doing this.

A warm tingle ran through his arm, and he was suddenly brought back to reality.

It was strange, seeing that they weren't supposed to write to him while he was away.

But the distraction was _oh so welcome._

He took off the metal arm guard and the glove from his left arm, and his eyes trailed the newly written words. The beating of his heart slowed down progressively. The simple view of these words gave him the impression that he could breathe again and take a break from his dark thoughts, like a reminder that the world around him was still standing, and he suddenly felt light-headed.

_Hello! It's okay if you don't answer me,_ _I know that I'm not supposed to write but I waited a lot and it's almost a month now and I really have ta tell you something! _

Shisui pursed his lips. He had actually come back to the village since, but his mind had been too messed up then. By the time he had had to leave again, barely a few days later, he hadn't been able to talk to them. He had just written them a message to tell them that he would be gone longer and not to contact him in the meantime.

Yet, as he read his soulmate's message, so carefree and innocent, his mind cleared, and he could almost forget his current situation. All his attention was on the words being scribbled on his skin, on the sweet sensation of a caress on his arm, and he focused on it like an anchor to _life_.

_I know my parents now! My friends found a picture of them and their names and I even have a family somewhere you know! _

Oh. Good. This was good.

Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. He hadn't realized exactly how tense his body was.

_My dad is someone I already heard about, he's awesome, and my mom is cool and pretty! I really wanted you to know. I'm still waiting for you!_

Shisui bit his lower lip, hard, and he gripped his arm full of ink firmly before he brought it close to his chest. His eyes burned, his vision cleared, and he instantly knew that he had subconsciously activated the Sharingan.

He embraced himself with his other arm as he buried his face in his elbow, hugging his only way of communication with his soulmate tightly; as if they were the one he was holding.

He was feeling so tired, so drained, so lost. He had closed off his emotions, as he usually did when a situation became too oppressive for him. And yet, for some reason, his self-control was completely breaking as he became aware of the meaning behind his soulmate's words.

They were thinking about him. They were waiting for him. They wanted to share their discoveries and their happiness with him. It wasn't anything out of the usual, coming from them, but the remembrance of those facts at that moment broke the dam that he had built inside of him.

That was probably the strangest thing about his soulmate. Something that made him feel both relieved to have them, and absolutely terrified.

They reminded him of his humanity.

As he hugged himself and sobbed silently, he let himself pretend that the tears that had finally escaped his eyes were for his soulmate's happiness, rather than for himself.

He couldn't wait to be back home.

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.

.

There was only one solution.

"Kill me."

He couldn't let any more people die. If he wanted a chance for this war to end, if he wanted to protect both Konan and Nagato, his life was a poor price to pay.

From where he stood, the leader of the Akatsuki kept an eye on Hanzo, on Hanzo's _hand_ threatening to slice Konan's throat. Despite his usual cool-headedness, anger and fear were gaining control over his senses.

"Nagato!" Yahiko ordered, more roughly this time, his eyes bore into Nagato's form.

His friend was frozen in place, and he didn't seem to hear Konan's scream, begging them not to listen to Hanzo's threats.

Little did she know that Yahiko had already made up his mind. His heartbeat quickened when Nagato finally started to march towards the weapon he was supposed to use. He wouldn't be so cruel as to make Nagato, so soft-hearted and idealistic, _actually_ kill him. No, Yahiko would commit the deed himself.

He had to.

That was the only solution.

His train of thoughts came to a stop when suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge toad jumped right in front of Hanzo and ate Konan before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Yahiko stared, dumbfounded, trying to understand what had just occurred.

Because he had just been thinking of killing himself.

And a _what_ did _what,_ now?!

It had happened so quickly! One moment, Hanzo was holding Konan against himself, a kunai pressed against her throat, and immediately afterwards, there was a _toad,_ and Hanzo had jumped backwards, seeming to weaken his hold on Konan, and the toad approached them and it… ate her?

What on earth?!

A toad… a toad meant that… that…

As the realization of the situation dawned on him, Yahiko felt a combination of intense happiness and relief, when once upon a time he would have been immensely exasperated.

_He_ was here.

"Well well well, since when does Konoha take part in external civil wars? Did I miss a memo somehow?"

Yahiko's eyes started to burn at the sound of this voice. So insufferable, and cocky and annoying at times, but the embodiment of so much _hope, once again._

He turned to look behind him and spotted none other than Jiraiya-sensei, standing a bit farther, his arms crossed, his back straight, making his figure look imposing and fearless. With a serious expression on his face, his eyes trailed the army of Konoha ANBU that had joined Hanzo and his men.

"Since I'm still following the good old rules, I'm not taking part in whatever skirmish you Ame-nins are having here. However," - his voice lowered and a dangerous intonation made Yahiko shiver with excitement - "the Konoha-nins are mine."

A wide grin stretched Yahiko's lips uncontrollably.

Jiraiya-sensei's appearance changed _everything_.

Yahiko threw a glance at Nagato, whose eyes were wide in shock. However, as soon as the red-head looked back at him, he seemed to quickly find his composure and they nodded at each other in agreement.

With Konan free, they wouldn't need to hold back, and Hanzo was standing right in front of them.

If they used to respect him and his ideals, a line had been crossed.

And _that_ also changed everything.

.

.

.

Genma was bored out of his mind.

As he watched the clouds and played mechanically with the senbon in his mouth, Genma reclined against the back of a bench and he was _bored_.

He had been injured during his last mission. He had a leg injury, a few broken ribs, and his shoulder was aching so bad it seemed like it wanted to break away from his body, but otherwise, he was fine. It hadn't been_ deadly_ since he was, like, _alive_, but it had been bad enough that he was now prohibited from doing any kind of missions for another week. And _he didn't have anyone to annoy!_

So, evidently, Genma was looking for a distraction. And whoever was the poor soul who ended up drawing his attention was in _trouble._

.

.

.

A few days after revealing to her soulmate her lastest discoveries (she reaaaally had to tell him, she couldn't wait anymore!), Naruto found herself skipping in the street joyfully, humming a song with a smile on her lips as she _completely_ ignored the looks that she was being given. The villagers had a problem with her? Didn't matter! She had her mom's smile memorized after spending _every single night_ looking at the picture of her _pa~rents _for the last month, and she was amazing and came from a badass clan. So, they didn't like Uzumakis because they were strong ninjas? Duh, she would become even stronger and be a kickass ninja with her _family's_ fun-jutsu everyone was so scared of! And her dad was the coolest shinobi _ever _anyway and he didn't mind Uzumakis. No one could reach her anymore!

Since she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, she didn't realize that upon entering a small park, a man seated on a bench followed her with his eyes as she approached him. At least, not until she passed near his bench, and he accosted her with energy.

"You!"

Naruto stopped in her track and looked at her left to see a shinobi in ninja gear. His arms were crossed and one of his hands was grabbing his chin as his droopy eyes were fixated on her form. He leaned in her direction minutely and let out a low hum, and some sort of toothpick in metal stuck between his teeth moved from one side of his mouth to the other. Wait, was that a senbon?

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed as suspicion grew in her, but he didn't move. "D'you want something, dattebayo?"

"Hum…" He nodded seriously. "Yes, actually. You'd be perfect. Care to help for a sec?"

Her eyes widened at the request. How unusual.

"Uh, sure?"

"Come, sit down beside me."

She complied, despite her wariness.

"What is it?"

She tried to remember his face, but she didn't think that she had ever seen him. Did she prank him before? That was a huge possibility. Maybe he was trying to prank her back or something?

He turned his gaze towards her as he settled both his forearms on his thighs. "Actually, I have a big favour to ask you," he started. "I am a ninja, and I'll be going on a secret mission soon."

Now _that_ caught her attention. Her eyes lit up and she nodded with enthusiasm.

"Since it's top secret, I have to go undercover." He stopped and seemed to think for a moment before he explained, "That means that I have to disguise and pretend to be someone else, you see?"

"I see, I see!" she grinned and sparkles lit her eyes.

He tilted his head and his eyebrows knitted, as if he were upset. "The thing is, I have a problem. I need to learn how to wear make-up for my mission. Since I have long hair, I've been asked to disguise as a woman. So, I was wondering if you'd let me put makeup on you for my training?"

Oh! Just like in class with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan!

His face suddenly turned sad and he was _totally_ sulking. "I've been asking around me, but no one agreed to help me."

"I'll help, dattebayo!" she shouted energetically. "I just learned that in kunoichi classes!" And she was proud to let him know about it. She pondered for a moment before she asked. "Did you have kunoichi classes too?"

"Ah." He blinked and shook his head. "Since I'm a man, I'm not considered a kunoichi. Therefore, I had no kunoichi classes, I'm afraid. Only shinobi classes."

"Eh?" She furrowed her eyebrows and a pout took place on her face. "That's too bad! They're super useful. Whadd'you learn in shinobi classes anyway?"

He looked up and played with the senbon in his mouth as he considered her question. "Mainly taijutsu, I believe. And a bit of strategy."

Huh? But… "I do taijutsu too?" she said, although her answer sounded more like a question.

"True, but we did more taijutsu. At least in my time…" he trailed off, his thoughtful expression morphing into a grimace.

"What?" She stared at him, her eyes wide, and she felt absolutely _outraged_. "That's why Sasuke-teme's so much better, dattebayo!"

"Ah, maybe, but he doesn't know how to put on make-up," the man reasoned.

Naruto blinked. That… was a fair point.

"But why? You need to wear makeup too right? How do you do to pretend to be a noble lady in a mission?"

"Eh…" He scratched his cheek with his forefinger and a small smile grew on his face. "Usually, that's the role of kunoichis."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, confusion clear on her face. "Yeah but ninja can henge? So they can disguise as kunoichi who disguise as noble ladies, right?"

The ninja opened his mouth, stared, and then clicked his tongue without hurting himself with the senbon in his mouth somehow. "You, kid, are completely right. Which is why I have to train outside of school to learn how to use makeup. Since, you know, I'm going to disguise as a civilian lady."

She blinked. Was that a compliment, or was he mocking her?

She couldn't tell at first, but he answered her silent question when he winked at her and a large grin formed on his face.

"That's a good way of thinking you have here," he started. "Usually, kunoichis specialize in defined careers, and male shinobis in others. For example, it's rare to have a kunoichi as a frontline fighter. And if they fight directly, they usually prefer far-range attacks."

Naruto frowned. Far-range, so, they stayed far from the combat...? "Like, they don't kick ass?"

"Well..." The man chewed his toothpick thoughtfully. "They do, but from afar. It's rare that a kunoichi engages in a close-range fight. Most of them know the basis of taijutsu, but don't specialize in that."

A gasp of consternation left Naruto's mouth. But that was the funniest!

"There are some exceptions though. And the women who do specialize in these areas are really good at what they do," he placated her as he laid his arm on the back of the bench and leaned against it. "In the same way, male ninjas rarely learn the art of healing, the etiquette and the most subtle ways of fighting. There are just specialities that are intended more for women, and others for men. Hence the kunoichi and shinobi classes."

Her puzzlement must have been obvious, because he let out a chuckle when he looked at her.

"To put it simply, girls usually dislike taijutsu but enjoy the most subtle ways of a ninja, and guys don't like disguising but they like fighting. That's why they follow separate classes with different specialities."

"But…" - Naruto pouted - "I like taijutsu and disguising." She had been called a tomboy before, but she was still a girl. So what was she? Both?

The shinobi shook his head, his eyes closed. "As I said, that's the most usual cases." When he opened his eyes, he leaned his face towards hers, and he stared at her with a serious expression. "But the best ninjas are those who don't let cliches stop them from learning and do not limit themselves. Every kind of knowledge is useful. And it might even save your life someday." He tilted his head and a lopsided grin stretched his lips. "That's why I was saying that your way of thinking was good. If you let yourself try out every speciality, even those that are not expected from you, you might find one where you excel that wasn't originally designed for you."

Huh. What language was he speaking? That sounded so complicated. He lost her when he said that something could save her life. But apparently she was good, so there was that.

Thankfully, he added, "What I mean is, learn everything you can. Don't stop yourself from learning just because usually, people like you don't. Even if you're told that it's not for girls, not for loud and energetic people, if you _do_ want to learn about it, just do it."

"Oh." She got it. "So I gotta do what I wanna do, even if people tell me I can't?"

He looked up for a moment before he nodded firmly. "Pretty much." He turned his gaze sideways and Naruto could barely hear him muttering. "When did this turn into a life-lesson talk?"

It didn't stop her from grinning widely. "Yeah, gotcha-ttebayo!"

"Good." He clapped his hands. "Anyway! Less talk, more action. Now that we settled this, since I have to practice my makeup skills, will you lend me your pretty face?"

With a nod, Naruto inclined her head towards him. "Go on! Since I did that in class I can help too!"

"Is that so?" he asked with amusement in his voice as he took a scroll from the pouch of his jacket and opened it. Then, he bit his thumb and a trail of blood escaped from the injury.

Naruto gasped. Why did he just hurt himself?!

With agility, he turned the scroll in his hand and traced a spiral with his blood. A puff of smoke appeared, and out of seemingly nowhere, makeup material came into sight on the scroll.

"Woah!" Naruto's eyes widened and she stared in wonder at the sight in front of her. "What was that?"

"Um?" The shinobi looked up from his possessions and raised an eyebrow at her. "I had everything sealed in this scroll. I just unsealed it by putting my blood signature on it."

His blood what? How did he- Naruto blinked. Wait up. Everything was _sealed_?

"Y-You…" she stammered as her heartbeat quickened. "You do funjutsu?!"

The ninja opened his mouth slightly, and the senbon in his mouth almost fell from it as he stared at her, puzzled. "Do you mean fuinjutsu…?" he corrected. "Yeah, not really. I can use basic seals. I do know one trick or two but I'm in no way a specialist."

A wave of excitement washed through her and she laid her hands on the bench, right in front of her. She leaned towards the shinobi, her eyes bright, and a deep blush spread on her cheeks. "Can you teach me? Please please please?"

His eyebrows shot up and a look of bewilderment crossed his face. "I… Well, as I said, my level in fuinjutsu is not good enough for me to _teach_ it." He seemed to ponder for a bit, before he added, "But I have a book on fuinjutsu theory that I could lend you…?"

"Really?!" she shouted. She was going to learn funjutsu like her mom! Like the Uzumakis! Like her family! She would become the best ninja of all the nations with such a skill!

"Sure," he replied with a smile on the corner of his lips. "It's only on theory though, nothing fancy. Mainly reading and headaches. Now, close your eyes and let me do some magic."

She did, her mind reeling with enthusiasm and happiness. She couldn't wait to get started!

"Oï, kid, stop moving so much."

"Put lots of orange!"

"Uh… We'll see about that." A pause. "You know what, you're absolutely right. Lots of orange."

.

.

.

Genma hummed a song as he started on his work.

Shisui was going to _end him._

Meh. If he wanted to complain to anyone, he could go to the nurses who put him on leave.

**.**

**To be continued**

**.**

* * *

The Ame trio are all about ~24 years old here (4 years older than Kakashi according to the databook). They seemed to be young adults when Yahiko passed away so, here. Those who expected THIS butterfly effect raise their hands o/

**Edit: Alright, so apparently this chapter confused many of you, so in case you didn't dare to ask, I'll put this here.**

**1) Genma figured out that Shisui and Naruto were soulmates at the end of chapter 6. He kept it for himself though, so Shisui knows nothing about his soulmate's identity other than the fact that they're young and orphans mainly. I don't know if it's because it was some time ago or if it wasn't that clear in the end?**

**2) In the last chapter, Kakashi met with Jiraiya to tell him that Danzo was suspicious, basically, and it was implied that he was asking him to dig into it. His research led him to Ame (because Danzo was meddling a lot with the affairs in Ame.) But I get that this part may be too fuzzy, so I'll add a scene later on to develop how he ended up there.**

Also, note that Kunoichis are female ninjas, but Shinobi is just another word for ninja. There's no specific word for males, but I needed to make a distinction between the classes.

Finally, thank you for your support everyone, I keep re-reading your reviews, it always makes me so happy! It's awesome to be able to share this story with you! Stay safe, take care of yourself and don't forget to stay hydrated!

Until next tiiiime~


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